


Roadkill

by glitzyena



Category: IZONE (Band)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Car Racing, Alternate Universe - Detectives, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Alternate Universe - Mob, Alternate Universe - Police, Amputation, Betrayal, Bikers, Blood and Injury, Card Games, Cheating, Crimes & Criminals, Detectives, Drinking, Drug Dealing, Dystopia, Explicit Language, F/F, Falling In Love, Gambling, Graphic Description, Gun Violence, Kissing, Money, Morally Ambiguous Character, Motorcycles, Murder, Mutilation, Mystery, Mystery Character(s), Organized Crime, Poker, Racing, Secret Organizations, Side Relationships - Freeform, Smoking, Street Racing, Undercover, Undercover Missions, Unrequited Love, casino - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:34:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 71,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27920860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glitzyena/pseuds/glitzyena
Summary: Chaewon is a detective in The Outskirts of Seoul tasked with infiltrating a street gang organising illegal drift races. She thinks she's just about as prepared as she can be, but she wasn't told that there was so much more to this group than just racing. She wasn't told just what the stakes were, and she certainly wasn't told that she was going to fall in love with Kim Minju."Please. I'm begging you,""Are you?" Minju quirks a brow, voice dropping to something dangerously quiet. "Because if you were really begging, you'd be on your knees,"
Relationships: Choi Yena/Jo Yuri, Kim Chaewon (IZONE)/Kim Minju, Lee Chaeyeon/Miyawaki Sakura
Comments: 46
Kudos: 212





	1. Rodent

**Author's Note:**

> ahhhh welcome to my new 2kim fic!! i’ve been planning this thing for the literal longest time omg, lets hope i don’t burn out and actually finish it this time lmao. ill be posting chapters of around this length every 2-3 weeks approximately, but if i don’t pls don’t eat me because im trying my best... probs.
> 
> oh!! before i forget and before you start reading, if you talk about or want to live tweet the chapter on twitter, pls use the tag #ROADKILL_2kim so that i can see hehe.
> 
> whEW anyways with all that out of the way, relax, get comfy, stream panorama, and enjoy!! 
> 
> [twitter](https://mobile.twitter.com/glitzyena)  
> [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/glitzyena)

“We have another infestation,” 

Eunbi looks over the top of her computer, eyebrows climbing in disbelief. “No,” she searches Hyewon’s eyes for any traces of dishonesty, and her heart sinks when she finds none. “Oh my god, you’re kidding me,” she groans, taking her hands away from the computer keyboard in favour of threading her fingers through her hair in agitation. “That’s what, the fourth time this year?”

Hyewon nods, letting out a sigh as she pulls back the chair in front of Eunbi’s desk, sitting herself down on it and crossing her arms. “Tomi said she saw a rat in the canteen this morning. Nothing else has been seen, but you know how it is,” she rolls her eyes. “Once there’s one, there’s a whole other family to go along with it,” 

“It’s the fucking Centre,” Eunbi curses, dropping her hands from her scalp and stretching them out in front of her. She keeps reminding herself that she needs to buy a new chair, one that doesn’t cause her muscles to ache so much, but it keeps getting pushed to the back of her list of priorities. “Can’t even spare us a bit of funding for pest control, nevermind the prevention of crime,” she grunts out, before waving a hand in Hyewon’s direction. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be ranting to you, it’s not very professional, is it?”

Hyewon snorts. “You know I don’t give two fucks about things like that,”

Eunbi gives her a wry smile. “It’s not you I’m worried about. Shit, I don’t care what you think of me, but what if I slip up in front of someone else? I have to try and convince Yujin that there’s at least  _ some _ sort of cohesion around here,” 

Hyewon hums. “I suppose so. She should figure out that this place is a shithole on her own rather than by your hands,”

Eunbi gives her a warning look, pointing a finger at her. “Watch it, you,” she leans back, grimacing when her back cracks out of its own accord. Yeah, definitely needs a new chair. “She’s so full of the joys, Yujin,” she says whistfully. “She’s so eager to do everything, and she works hard too. I swear, if this detective unit were in any other fucking station, we’d be flying it,” she gives her head a gentle shake, positioning her fingers back on the computer keyboard. “Anyways, I really should be working. What do you need?”

“No, you shouldn’t,” Hyewon chides, and points to the clock on the back wall, Eunbi turning in her chair to face it. “We’re on break. And if you think I’m going anywhere near that dingy fucking canteen, you’ve got another thing coming. Hii looked traumatised this morning,”

“God,” Eunbi mutters, looking at the clock in disbelief. “It’s a good thing you came. I would’ve just kept on working,” 

“I know you would’ve,” Hyewon stands up, tilting her head in the direction of the door. “C’mon, we’ll go to the café around the corner. My treat,”

Eunbi quirks a brow at her. “It really should be me telling you what to do, not the other way round,” she huffs out, as she follows suit by standing up. She takes her coat from where she’d slung it over the back of her chair and threads her arms through it. 

Hyewon laughs. “When it comes to investigations, perhaps so. But you know full well that when it’s lunch time, you’re never really in charge,”

And because Eunbi’s never been one to argue with fact, she follows Hyewon out the door with a fond smile and a shaking head.

  
  


Eunbi’s coffee, to be frank, tastes like shit. 

She usually trusts Hyewon’s intuition, but she can only do her best with what she’s given. The food scene surrounding the station isn’t exactly what Eunbi would call tasteful, but she’s constantly reminded that beggars can’t be choosers.

She sips on the coffee, which reminds her a bit of tar, both in taste and in colour, and while her taste buds mightn’t agree with it, it gets the job done in terms of getting her warm, and giving her energy levels that extra kick. The winter months are slowly but surely creeping upon them, and there’s that extra bite to the air that definitely hasn’t gone amiss. She cups the takeaway cup in both her palms, holding it close to her. 

The coffee shop isn’t anything elaborate, not that anything within a twenty kilometre radius could be paired with such an adjective, but it’s nice enough. Even though it’s dark, the lights flickering hopefully, and the temperature is a little chilly, it’s clear that someone cares for this place. There’s small little plants placed on the centre of each table, real ones, ones that someone has taken the time out to water. The tables, while not quite matching the colour scheme of the rest of the place, gleam spotlessly, and by the counter, the display of coffee cups have been neatly laid out so that they display the café’s logo as you walk by.

Eunbi shakes her head. She’s getting distracted.

Actually, no. She’s procrastinating. She needs to just… bite the bullet and spit it out already. And, when Eunbi sets her mind on something, she does it. So she decides, then and there, that now is the best opportunity she’s gonna get to speak about what’s on her mind. 

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something,” she delivers the sentence clearly, and with confidence, yet on the inside, she’s been putting off this conversation for the majority of the week. 

“Yeah?” Hyewon shows her that she’s listening, but her attention is honed in on her phone, scrolling with her thumb while she chews on her food lethargically. 

Eunbi presses her lips together, running her thumb over the irregularities of the cardboard cup holder. “Something serious, Hyewon-ah,” 

At that, Hyewon’s gaze instantly darts up to meet hers, and she puts her phone down, switching it off. “Yeah?” she repeats as she places her own cup down on the table, leaning forward in her seat. “What is it?”

Eunbi hesitates, wanting to choose her words carefully. “It’s about… that opperation we launched at the beginning of the year,”

Hyewon’s face, just like Eunbi had anticipated, goes a little slack. It remains like that for a few moments, before she’s giving her head a little jolt, straightening out her shoulders. Eunbi does admire that about Hyewon, immensely. She never allows her own views or experiences to affect whatever task is at hand, always able to push her own needs to the side whenever necessary. Eunbi has always felt that she herself was a more personal worker than needed, but she digresses. 

“What about it?” Hyewon asks, straight to the point. 

Eunbi takes in another controlled breath, reassuring herself that she can talk to Hyewon about this, that this is the right thing to do. “We launched that opperation back in February. We haven’t heard anything since June, and nothing that could be considered of use since May,” she doesn’t allow any of her own bias to stain what she’s saying, just lays out the cold, hard facts for Hyewon to see. Even if they both know of them already.

Hyewon nods her head along to what Eunbi says, but doesn’t say anything. Eunbi takes it as a signal for her to keep going. 

“The operation is… still in motion,” she hesitates halfway through her sentence, which she curses herself for. “It’s still in motion, but at this moment in time, it’s like we never even launched it at all. We’re no further than we were back in January. And for such a seemingly small task, I wonder why it’s taking up so much of our time, and with such minimal outcome,” 

She sees Hyewon’s nails dig into her forearms from where her arms are crossed, crimson coated fingernails causing her pale skin to dimple, and whiten even further. But, aside from that, she still looks composed. “...okay,”

“I’m not calling it off,” Eunbi carries on, with a gentle shake of her head. “Even if I wanted to, it’d be impossible with the lack of contact. I just think… we need to take another shot. From a different angle,”

Hyewon narrows her eyes at her, like she’s reading her carefully. “How do you mean,  _ different angle? _ ”

Eunbi chews at her lower lip, then stops herself. She’s got this. She knows what she’s doing, she just has to get her delivery right. “Last time, we didn’t go in full force. We didn’t think we’d need to, yet it got us nowhere. We need to go for the jugular,” 

“You want to send someone else in,”

Eunbi nods. 

Hyewon stares at her. “After what happened last time, you want to send someone else in,”

“We can be more prepared this time. We know what we’re up against,”

Hyewon lets out a scoff, and she’s only human. Eunbi doesn’t really blame her, she merely winces. “More prepared,” she repeats, drawing the words out. “What, so last time was just a test run?”

Eunbi’s eyebrows downturn, looking at the girl across from her with sincerity. “Hyewonie-” the nickname slips past her lips without her even being conscious of it, but it seems to get the job done.

“No no, you’re right,” Hyewon waves a hand at her, instantly looking like she’d regretted her own actions, then using that same hand to rub at her own face. “You’re looking at it statistically, that’s what you’re supposed to do, I’m sorry. Go on,”

Eunbi doesn’t say anything, for a moment, allowing Hyewon a few seconds to gather herself. She knows that anyone else would have the same reaction as her, probably worse, but Hyewon is good at putting her emotions at bay. But it’s a tough conversation, for all of them. 

Eunbi takes a tentative sip of her coffee, grimacing at the taste, and then continuing on. “She’s not going to come back, whether that be her decision or not. We have to intervene somehow, if we’re to… I guess, if we’re to see her again. And simultaneously, I’d like to kill two birds with the one stone by finishing what we started,”

Hyewon tilts her head to the side, pursing her lips. “Who are you going to send in, though? They know all of us,”

Eunbi scoffs. “Fucking right they do,”

One corner of Hyewon’s lips turns upwards, just slightly. “They know all of us, and it’s not like any of the other units would ever co-operate with us,” 

Eunbi leans back in her seat, and crosses one leg over the other. “They know all of us,” she affirms, but then, holds up a pointer finger in front of her face. 

“All of us, except one,” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Chaewon bustles in through the door of the detectives’ unit, folders practically spilling past her arms as she uses her foot to keep the door open while she passes through. She blows a stray strand of short, dark hair out of her eyes, only for it to fall right back into place again, giving nods of greeting to people sitting at their desks who had looked up to see who’d come in. Chaewon weaves through the maze of towering bookshelves and teetering piles of paperwork, over in the direction of her own desk where she can finally dump this heavyload. 

The detective unit of the station was always going to be a challenge, Chaewon knows that, and while the workload is about ten times heavier than the files she’s carrying right now, it does make contributing to the bills a little easier. Paying what’s due is difficult for just about anyone really, ever since the sudden stagnation, and the economic reform that had come along with it. Living in The Outskirts of Seoul, in an area just like this one, you’re not going to find a lot of people living all too comfortably. The setbacks had occurred what must have been decades ago, and even now, people still are nowhere near close to recovering, Chaewon and just about everyone in this room included in the bracket. 

The one common factor that they all possess is the fact that they live in The Outskirts. The Centre, however, is an entirely different story. 

The Centre refers to just that - the centre of Seoul. Chaewon hasn’t personally been, but she knows the place is rampant with wealth, where all the major franchises, corporations and industries of the country seek to locate and spread. The buildings tower high, and gleam like they’re carved from diamonds, everything beautiful and opulent and lavish beyond description. The closer you get to The Centre from here, the wealthier the regions become. 

So, located on the very edge of the city, where the streets are coated in thick layers of dust and the dilapidated infrastructure crumbles with the slightest gust of wind, getting by is no easy task. Chaewon thanks her lucky stars each night that she was able to land a position in this unit when she had the opportunity. 

Because their station is low down, and far from The Centre’s list of priorities, the fundings for the building and their operations are slim to none. The rooms are cramped, in dire need of refurbishment, and extra chilly in the winter months, but again, out of all the jobs available to her in The Outskirts, Chaewon’s beyond grateful to have this one. 

She’s often shuddered at the thought. There are plenty of other kinds of jobs in The Outskirts, freelance jobs, if you will, ones that make her stomach churn at the mere thought of.

Shaking her head, she wills herself to focus as she sets her files down on her desk once she reaches it, carefully and quietly so as to not disturb the people around her. Not all the people around her are actually a part of the same squad, because again, spacing is an issue. They try to group together as best they can, into their separate departments, so the majority of the people surrounding Chaewon are in criminal investigations, just as she is, even if there’s only a handful of them. They’re one of the luckier departments; the detective superintendent, Kwon Eunbi, used to be a part of their unit, before she was given the head position, and way before Chaewon joined. She lets them come into her office from time to time, should the cramped atmosphere ever get too much. Chaewon thinks they must’ve outgrown this building years ago, but she does her best not to complain. 

Sitting at the desk across from hers is Hitomi, and Chaewon flutters her fingers over the ridge of her computer to get her attention. Hitomi startles, obviously very absorbed in her work, and looks up at Chaewon with wide eyes. Once she registers that it’s Chaewon in front of her, however, her posture relaxes, and she smiles warmly. “Hey,” she greets her, in a whisper so as to not tear anyone else around them from their work. She gestures to the bundles of files that Chaewon had placed on her desk with an amused expression. “That looks like lots of fun,”

Chaewon makes a face, smoothing out her skirt before sitting down. “Tell me about it,” she rolls her eyes. “You doing okay?” Even though she had talked to Hitomi just hours ago as they both left their flat for work this morning, she knows the girl’s tendency to completely swamp herself in her work, pouring everything into the task at hand until it leaves her completely drained. The two of them have been roommates even before Chaewon finally made it into the detective unit, and while Hitomi had always offered to recommend her to Kwon Eunbi, Chaewon insisted on making it in by her own means. 

Hitomi nods at her, giving her thumbs-up in reassurance. “I’m good, don’t worr-,” 

“Oh? Is Chaewon-unnie there?” A new voice intervenes, high and sweet, and Yabuki Nako pops her head around the divider that splits hers and Hitomi’s desks, and into Chaewon’s line of sight. Chaewon can’t help but laugh at the comical image; only half of Nako’s head visible, her large, brown eyes wide, and Hitomi leaning away from her with mock disgust painted on her features as her personal space is invaded.

“Hi, Nako,” Chaewon greets her through a soft breath of laughter that she muffles with her palm. 

Nako, very much ignoring Hitomi’s pointed judging, points at Chaewon. “Eunbi-unnie says she’s looking for you,” 

It’s Chaewon’s turn now for her eyes to go wide, head poking forward as she leans across her desk. “What? Me?” she points to herself.

“Yeah,” Nako bobs her head up and down in confirmation. “She wants you to go to her office during lunch,”

Hitomi reaches out, giving Nako’s shoulder a small shake. “How come I wasn’t told this?”

Nako blinks at her, unimpressed. “Last I checked, your name was Hitomi, not Chaewon,”

Hitomi makes a face at her, almost as if to say  _ aren’t you just hilarious.  _ She turns back to face Chaewon, facial expression shifting into something more concerned. “Did something happen?”

Chaewon shakes her head, totally bewildered. She searches her mind for something that might’ve occurred that would warrant her going to Eunbi’s office, or something she’d sent in that might’ve been wrong, but she can’t come up with anything. “No,” she replies, a little dazed. “Do either of you know anything? Did she say anything else to you?” she directs the second question at Nako, who shakes her head.

“She said it was important that I let you know,” she casts an uneasy glance at Hitomi, which does’t go amiss to Chaewon. “She left after that, it was just when I was passing by her in the hallway,”

Chaewon nods slowly, and shifts her gaze to Hitomi, who shakes her head before Chaewon even gets to say anything.

“I know nothing. If I did, I’d let you know. You know that,”

Chaewon heaves out a sigh, already accepting that there’s nothing she can do about the butterflies that have begun to flit about inside her stomach, trying her best not to squirm. 

Eunbi is the detective superintendent, and while her position might sound intimidating, it didn’t take Chaewon long to learn that Eunbi herself is kind. She doesn’t doubt that she can be intimidating whenever necessary, but she has yet to see her in such a scenario.

And, she’d rather keep it that way, which is why Chaewon finds herself having to wipe sweat off of her forehead despite it being the end of Autumn.

  
  
  
  
  


  
  


“Come in,”

Taking in a deep breath, Chaewon removes her knuckles from the door from where she’d knocked on it, and curls her grip around the door handle. It’s slightly slippery to the touch, thanks to the cold sweat that’s been gathering on her palms ever since Nako had told her Eunbi wanted to see her. Giving her head a sharp jolt, she forces herself to push the door handle down, and steps inside. 

Kwon Eunbi is sitting behind her desk, the remains of a sandwich lying sadly on a crumpled piece of wax paper, hand to her mouth as she chews and swallows. “Chaewon-ah,” she greets her. “Come in, sit down,” she gestures for Chaewon to sit at the chair in front of her desk as she stands up. She crumples up the paper in her palm as Chaewon tentatively makes her way across the small room, keeping her hands clasped in front of her to prevent them from shaking. Off to the side of Eunbi’s desk is the chief inspector, Kang Hyewon, and Eunbi’s right-hand-man. She sat still, body closed off, with her arms folded and legs crossed, lips drawn into a straight line that makes it impossible for Chaewon to gage what she might be thinking. 

She pulls back the chair and sits down on it, again with care, not wanting to appear too informal or like she’s overly comfortable. Again, on a normal occasion, she would be normal around Eunbi. She’s known her for a short while at this stage, and while she may be a higher up, it doesn’t stop her from getting to know those in the unit, especially those in her former department. 

But, she’s never had to meet Eunbi on her own, nor for such a situation like this. All the worst possible outcomes are swimming around inside Chaewon’s head - a warning, a demotion, even being fired. She knows funds are tight, and realistically speaking, she’s the least experienced on this team asides from Yujin-

“You look like you’re thinking so much you might implode,” 

Chaewon blinks rapidly to force herself out of her own head, and back to the present. Eunbi is sitting across from her, expression controlled, but her eyes gleam with a bit of humour. Off to the side, Hyewon snorts.

Feeling her cheeks colour, Chaewon dips her head, embarrassed. “Sorry,” she murmurs, then curses herself for coming across as too timid.

“Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble or anything like that, you’ve done nothing wrong,” Eunbi reassures her, and Chaewon can’t help but let out a sigh of relief. “I know it probably sounded a bit ominous, telling you to come here with no context, but I was in a rush when I saw Nako,” she pauses, and even just with that, the mood of the room changes. “But I haven’t called you in just for a chat either,”

Curious, and not as stressed out as she was before, Chaewon nods along, intrigued. 

Eunbi clasps her hands together on the desk. “I’ll have to provide you with a bit of background information first, if this is to make any sense to you,” she takes in a breath, and then continues on. “Back at the beginning of the year, the criminal investigations unit launched an undercover opperation,” she raises a brow in Chaewon’s direction. “I take it that you’re aware of the street racing that’s been going on for the past year or so, in this section of the ring, yes?”

Chaewon nods, still a little jittery knowing that she’s not in trouble. “I am, yes,” she responds. On the rare occasion, she’s talking once in a blue moon, a thread of speeding, modded cars with gleaming hoods and tacky paintjobs will fly by her and Hitomi on their way home should they ever be working extra late, engines roaring in excess and tires screaming against the tarmac. “I’ve never looked into them, though,” 

Eunbi hums. “Well, they’ve been an issue for a long while now, and back in January, we decided to put a stop to them,” she draws her lips together, shaking her head. “The super didn’t approve the motion, naturally,” she scoffs,  _ super _ referring to the superintendent of the entire station. “But we as a department felt it a necessary issue to tackle. The disruption, for one. But the gambling surrounding it is totally unlicensed, and the profit that the group organising it is something our paychecks would weep at,” 

Hyewon lets out a soft snigger, the sound ceasing as soon as it’s started.

“So we decided last January to send one of our inspectors into this group. It wasn’t going to take us very long, and she wasn’t supposed to be in there for more than a few months. We anticipated she’d be out by three; this group isn’t very large, and it didn’t seem like too complicated of a task,” she turns her gaze to Hyewon, giving her a nod.

Hyewon doesn’t react in any way, but picks up from where Eunbi left off seamlessly. “It’s September now,” her tone is monotonous. “And she still hasn’t returned. We haven’t heard anything from her since early June. She slowly started providing us with less and less information as time went by, until contact just ceased altogether. We’re no further than we were back in January, and if anything, we’re on the back foot. It was meant to be a short, simple opperation, but it’s been more than half a year and we’re left with nothing but a lost member,”

Eunbi nods, grim, and turns back to Chaewon. “And you understand that we can’t go to the higher ups or to any of the other units for assistance, because really we never should’ve launched it in the first place,”

Chaewon shifts in her seat, not really all too sure why Eunbi is telling her all this. “Do the others… the ones in criminal investigations, know about this?”

Eunbi nods. “They were the ones who helped me conduct it. Forgive them for not informing you about it, that was my call. They weren’t to tell anyone who wasn’t involved at the time, which includes you. And Yujin, now that I think of it. But there’s a reason I’m telling you before I’m telling her,” Eunbi leans forward, readjusting the grip her clasped fingers have on each other. “We want to try again, to pick apart this group. What we learned last time, we can improve on this time. I’ve discussed it with Hyewon, and we both think that it could be a good move to launch another opperation,”

Chaewon frowns, the pieces like a jigsaw in her mind slowly but surely forming a clearer and clearer image. And she isn’t all too sure if she likes what she’s seeing. “An… undercover opperation?” she clarifies. 

Eunbi nods her head. “Yes, that’s right. And we were wondering…” she glances over at Hyewon again, who nods at her. She looks Chaewon in the eye when she speaks. “If you would be willing to carry it out,” 

Chaewon freezes in her seat.

She stares at her.

She must look a sight, eyes blown and jaw hanging open, but it’s the last thing on her mind. She gestures to herself vaguely, too in shock to form a coherent sentence. “...me,” she says, dumbfounded. “You want me to go undercover,” 

“I know it’s a difficult situation for me to put you in, but let me explain,” Eunbi holds up her palms. “Because of our looking into them before, the group know of us, particularly Hyewon and I,” she gestures to herself and Hyewon with a lazy movement of her wrist. “We’ve encountered them the odd time, so obviously we wouldn’t be suited. The operation is unknown to the entirety of the station, so that automatically outrules anyone from any of the other units. Although Yujin joined us just a short while after you, she’s still only fresh from her community position, and her experience and skill just doesn’t match up to yours. All that, and we just think that you’re well suited for the job,” she leans back in her chair. “And you know me well enough at this stage to know that I’m not saying that to flatter you,”

Chaewon doesn’t reply for a moment or two, giving herself time to digest Eunbi’s words. She isn’t all too sure what her initial response is, or what her first answer is, so she purses her lips. “I’ll… need to know more than that, I think,” she answers tentatively, not sure if she’s pushing it, but Eunbi seems to take it on board, rolling her wrist to signal Chaewon to keep talking. “How long is it for? What would I have to do? Why…” she frowns to herself, tilting her head to the side. “Why hasn’t the other girl contacted you?”

“You don’t have to make a decision on the spot, so you don’t need to worry about that,” Eunbi reassures her. “I know it’s a lot to ask of you, so I’ll give you plenty of time to mull it over. In regards to what you’ll have to do, I’ll be giving you a full briefing regarding everything that we know, but for now…” she trails off, turning her attention to her computer and clicking on a few things with the mouse. It takes her a moment or two, but soon enough she’s swivelling the monitor around so that it’s facing Chaewon. 

On the screen is a picture of a young woman, probably around the same age as Chaewon herself. The picture is blurred just slightly, like it was taken in a rush, or in context, probably taken while trying not to get caught. The woman is turned to the side, face drawn into an austere expression, unsmiling, looking off at something over her shoulder. Her hair is black, straight and long, the wind pushing it back from her face and out behind her. She’s dressed casually, simply, black sweats and a loose black t-shirt that hangs from her frame. The picture is dimly lit, and the girl’s features are sharpened from what Chaewon assumes to be a streetlamp over her head. Chaewon supposes she’s quite beautiful, the kind of face where it’s hard to deny, soft yet sharp, and if the picture were presented to her in any other situation she’d assume she was a model of some sort.

“Have you ever seen her before?” Eunbi asks her, not looking at the picture at all, but rather at Chaewon.

Chaewon looks at the picture a few beats more, trying to wrack her brains, but she’s sure she would’ve remembered seeing someone who looks as good as, well,  _ this _ before. She shakes her head. “No, I haven’t,”

Eunbi hums, not sounding surprised. “She’s responsible for the organising and the running of all the drift racing that goes on in the entirety of the outer ring, not just in this sector,” her eyes finally fall on the monitor, and it’s almost like that action alone leaves a bad taste in her mouth. “I know you wouldn’t expect it of her at first glance, but she’s got a web of connections and influences in the underground and the hidden market in The Outskirts that we can’t even begin to measure. Not without some sort of inside information,” 

She turns the monitor back around, eyes lingering on the picture for a few seconds more, then focusing back in on Chaewon. “Should you agree, your main task would be to become aquainted with her,”

“Last time, we didn’t go straight for her,” Hyewon intervenes, and even though her voice isn’t particularly loud, it still demands to be heard in a way that Chaewon can never figure out. “Thought it’d be too risky, so we poked at her lower-downs instead. But now… we think that going right for her might give us a bit more to work with,” she props her chin up on her fist, looking at the picture over Eunbi’s shoulder. “She’ll be a tough one to crack, but I do believe it’s possible,”

Eunbi hums in agreement. “This opperation would be launched with the aim of putting a stop to illegal activity, that’s what it says on the tin. But…” she sighs. “The girl we sent in in February is a member of criminal investigations. She’s a… collegue. We want to have her back in the station as soon as we can,”

Hyewon makes a noise of affirmation, low and barely audible.

Chaewon points to the monitor. “Can I see it one more time?”

Eunbi complies with what she says, turning it around again for Chaewon to see. Chaewon leans forward, folding her arms. She looks plainly regular, despite her additional attractiveness (that Chaewon finds frustratingly difficult to ignore), but other than that Chaewon could pass her by in the street and she would hardly bat an eyelid. She doesn’t look like someone who’d be capable of organising such a large scheme of underground activities, but if working in this station for the past couple of years has taught Chaewon anything, it’s that your first impression of a person should never taint how you see them in the future. 

She peers up at Eunbi, who hasn’t taken her eyes off of her. Chaewon knows she wants her to say yes to this entire thing, whether it be now, or in a few weeks. Undercover missioning is technically a part of the job, although it’s not something Chaewon ever anticipated she’d come across, and if she were to, definitely not so early since her move to the detective unit. “Her,” she says, pointing to the screen with her finger. “What’s her name?”

Eunbi smiles, although there’s nothing joyous or happy about it whatsoever. “That,” she says, and there’s something about her voice that doesn’t sit quite right with Chaewon. “Would be Kim Minju,”

  
  
  


  
  


Hitomi stares at Chaewon for what must be a full minute, eyes wide and lips parted in shock. She eventually blinks, and gives her head a sharp shake, pressing her fingers to her temples and closing her eyes like she’s trying to concentrate. “Hold on, no, run that by me again,” she rubs at her face, clearly distressed. “Because for a second there I thought you said that Eunbi’s asked you if you’d be willing to go undercover and join that squad of drift racers we tried infiltrating more than half a year ago,”

Chaewon nods, slouched into the couch, her chin tucked into her chest and Hitomi sat next to her. “No, you heard right,” she pops a piece of popcorn into her mouth from the bowl that’s wedged between them, and she has to admit, it’s the most depressing kernel of popcorn she thinks she’s ever eaten. 

“She- what?” Hitomi exclaims, sitting up straight and shuffling so that she’s facing Chaewon head on. “Why would she do something like that? Why would she bother telling the rest of us to keep the opperation from you, only to-” she cuts herself off with a huff of utter frustration, squeezing the cushion that she’s got hugged to her chest, and Chaewon can’t help but smile softly.

“You’re so cute, Hiichan,” her words come out in a drawl, thick with the exhaustion that’s slowly consuming her. 

“How can you- at a time like this, unnie?  _ Really? _ Do you understand what she’s asking of you?” Hitomi exasperates, unable to sit still. 

“I’m very much aware of what she’s asking me to do. That’s why I’m trying not to think about it,”

“Just because you’re ignoring doesn’t mean it’s going to go away,” 

“I can do a mean job at pretending, though,”

“Unnie-”

“I mean technically, it’s part of my job description,” 

“That’s undercover, as in, dressing down for twenty minutes to buy cocaine from someone to catch them then and there,” Hitomi shakes her head, and Chaewon does begin to feel guilty at the sight of the sheer concern and worry in her eyes. “Please be serious, unnie,” Hitomi implores her, and because it’s Hitomi, and Chaewon’s always had a soft spot for her, she can’t really help but comply. “What Eunbi’s asking of you… could take months,” she swallows, eyes darting around anxiously. “The other girl… she’s not even back yet. She hasn’t contacted us in I don’t even know how long,” 

“Since June,” Chaewon supplies for her, rubbing at her eyes. “Who is the other girl, anyway? You guys have no idea why she’s stopped contacting you?”

Hitomi hesitates. “I don’t- I don’t think I’m supposed to say,” when Chaewon quirks a brow at her, she worries at her lower lip. “The girl… if you do agree to go along with what Eunbi wants, knowing who she is could be a major distraction. Plus, we don’t know what she’s doing. She might have a plan after all, one that we’re not aware of that involves her not telling us. We don’t know, but we still have to trust her. And, you being actively aware of who’s on your side and who isn’t… it makes you more liable to slip up rather than putting up a front to everybody,” she purses her lips in thought, nose twitching. “It’s kind of like method acting. You know when the director places the actor into an environment without telling them what’s going to happen, so that their emotions are genuine?” 

Chaewon nods her head, a little disappointed, but she can see where Hitomi’s coming from. “Yeah okay. I get you,”

Hitomi still looks to be wrapped up in her own thoughts. “Except this isn’t a movie, and there isn’t going to be a point where someone says cut,” she shakes her head again, clearly not fond of this idea at all. “Unnie, Eunbi will want you to go through with this, badly, but please think it over first. I don’t know what I-” she cuts herself off, face becoming a little lost. Even in the dark of their cramped living room, with the only source of lighting being the paused television screen, Chaewon can immediately sense that she’s becoming choked up.

Her heart practically melts. “ _ Hitomi _ ,”

Even though Hitomi shakes her head insistently, her hand coming up to cover her mouth, Chaewon hugs her regardless, wrapping her arms around her and drawing her in close. The younger girl instantly rests her forehead on Chaewon’s shoulder, sniffling, and Chaewon strokes her hair soothingly. 

“No, it’s just cuz-” Hitomi’s voice wavers uneasily, a little thick with the sobs she’s trying to contain “Because I  _ know _ , you unnie,” she says. “And I know that you’ll want to do this to, I don’t know, prove to yourself that you can do it? To Eunbi-unnie? You won’t back down becuase it’s just not  _ you _ ,”

Chaewon bites at the inside of her cheek, staring at the wall in front of her, her hand stroking Hitomi’s lightly coloured strands slowing down. 

Hitomi’s right, after all. She’s voicing aloud what Chaewon has been too afraid to even admit to herself. 

Even though she knows it’s a risk, that she doesn’t quite know yet what she could be involving herself in, or what she’s getting herself into… there’s no way she can turn something like this down. Not with that itch in the back of her mind, that craves recognition, that wants to make it higher, to  _ prove _ herself, purring into her ear in a way that Chaewon simply can’t ignore. 

  
  
  


“Kim Minju,” Eunbi slides a stapled booklet across the table, which Chaewon picks up with tentative hands. “This is just about everything we’ve got on her,”

Chaewon thumbs the booklet, thinner than she expected it to be. “It’s not much,” 

“Which is what we’ve got you for,” Eunbi nods. “Should you agree, of course,” 

Chaewon hums, placing the document back on the table. “What would I have to do, exactly?” she questions, tilting her head to the side. “You said become  _ acquainted _ ,”

Eunbi considers this for a moment before responding. “Ideally? We want you as close to her as possible. She won’t be easy to get to, and she’ll be difficult to crack. Other than those she works with, we don’t know of anyone she holds close. Family, friends, they’re all out of the picture. She’s completely off the record, it’s actually quite impressive,” 

Chaewon nods, and Eunbi continues on.

“It means there’s a high possibility that there’s a space like that available. A gap in the market,”

Chaewon narrows her eyes. “Becoming close to a regular person takes time as it is,” she points out. “Earning the respect of someone like her would surely take a lot more than just acting friendly,”

Eunbi nods, grim. “It won’t be an easy task, I’m sure you don’t need me to explain that much. Getting close to Minju would require you to gain her trust. That would mean doing whatever she asks of you. Unconditionally,” 

At that final word, Chaewon’s eyebrows raise, but other than that she just about manages to keep her exterior composed. “Unconditionally,” she muses with an echo, thoughtful.

“That would mean anything. Racing, collecting debts, you name it. If she asks you to do it, no matter how immoral or illegal, you’d have to do it to prove to her that you can be trusted. That way, you can carve a path in,” she looks Chaewon in the eye. “No matter how much your conscious would scream at you to not do something, you’d have to go through with it,”

And Chaewon’s not going to deny it, the thought is terrifying. A woman such as this most likely has a moral system quite different to Chaewon’s, and establishing a string of connections throughout a scene as vicious as the underground of The Outskirts… you certainly wouldn’t be able to achieve something like that by playing nice. 

“That being said, you can’t be a kiss-ass either,” Eunbi clarifies. “Like look, let’s just face up to the facts. She’s attractive, yes? Beautiful, even,” 

Chaewon resists the strong urge to snort. At least Eunbi is being realistic.

Eunbi holds up an open palm, tapping each of her fingers as she lists things off. “She’s pretty. She’s got money, and fucking tonnes of it at that. She’s got connections, she’s got power, she’s got control. I don’t doubt for a single fucking second that there are people who worship the ground she walks on,” she points her finger at Chaewon. “One of your goals is to find the middle ground. And from there, you can slowly but surely lead us in. You don’t want to be just another face,”

Chaewon nods slowly, thinking that she’s got the general gist of it at this stage.

“We’ll prepare you for everything, of course, if you agree, and help you out as much as we can. Any skills that need developing, a backstory, we’ll organise everything for you in order to give you the best chances of success as possible. Again as I said, I’ll give you time to mull it over-”

“I’ll do it,”

Eunbi blinks at her. “You-” she blinks again, rapidly, giving her head a gentle shake. “What? Just like that? You’re agreeing?” 

Chaewon bobs her head. “I know it’s too early on for me to even consider my options,” she says. “But I’m most likely never going to get an opportunity like this ever again. It’s dangerous, and it’s a huge risk, but,” she nods her head slowly, almost like she’s agreeing with herself. “But my mind has already been made up, and it’s not going to change. I think it’s been made up ever since you proposed the idea to me,” 

Eunbi gawks at her, but quickly manages to reign her composure back in. “Well,” she lets out a soft breath of laughter. “I wasn’t expecting it to be that easy. I’ll give you a couple more days to decide, just to make sure and to be on the safe side, but I mean…” she gives Chaewon a confident quirk of her lips. “If you pull this off, Chaewon-ah- it’ll be huge. Thank you, for your bravery,”

Chaewon tilts her head, pursing her lips. “Bravery,” she murmurs. __

_ Bravery or Stupidity? _

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


It takes longer than Chaewon ever could’ve anticipated, the preparations, but the further they delve, the more she realises how obvious it is just how much work needs to be done. “Your phone, to start off with,” Eunbi explains, holding up her own and giving it a little wave. “You’ll have to go through everything on it. Delete all our numbers, social media, anything that can relate you back to who you actually are, and the station, has to go,” she tilts her head. “But you can’t have it too barren either. Too suspicious,”

Chaewon nods, swiping through her phone idly, already taking note of what she’ll have to get rid of. “And to contact you guys, a disposable phone, yeah?” 

Eunbi nods. “To air on the side of caution. Can’t be tracked, so there’s no harm in using them. Cyber cafés work just as good, if you’re ever stuck,”

  
  
  


Chaewon does have to admit, that deleting old pictures of Hitomi does leave her with a bitter sting in her mouth, even though she knows she’s got them all backed up, and Hitomi reassures her with wistful eyes that “it’s not that big a deal unnie, honestly,”

  
  
  


“You can keep your name the same, it’s not uncommon so no real connections can be made with it,” Hyewon explains to her, running through the web of lies she’s spun for Chaewon to live as her reality. “You don’t have a set place where you live, you hop around with whoever’ll take you,” she reads off her computer as she’s speaking. “This is the one we’re gonna use to our advantage. You’re not great at racing-” she looks up from the computer. “-obviously, because you don’t even do it,” she highlights, and Chaewon simply scoffs. “-but you can sell people shit. Chaewon, I’m not kidding you, you could talk someone to death if you felt like it. You’re smart, people smart, when you don’t let worries get the best of you,” she says, and Chaewon can tell that it’s sincere. “It’s something that I think when you get your bearings, it’ll be an upper hand you have over Kim Minju. But, to her, you’ve got to play it like it’s an asset of yours that she can use to her advantage. In order to get in, before you even think about getting close to her, you have to make yourself seem as beneficial to her as possible. Otherwise, you won’t even get a look in,”

  
  
  
  


One of the evenings, she finds Hitomi staring at her despondently, ignoring the movie that they’ve only been half paying attention to. Chaewon turns away from the screen to look at her, reaching out and giving her hand a squeeze. “Everything okay?”

Hitomi just keeps looking at her, that sad, kicked-puppy expression written all over her face. “She’ll make you move out, you know,” she mutters, her gaze drifitng down to the blanket draped over their laps, picking at its threads. “Eunbi. In case one of them ever follows you home,” 

Chaewon hadn’t thought about it, but when she assesses it now, it makes sense. If anyone associated with Minju were to see her with Hitomi, she’d be out within an instance. “Hii-”

“No, it’s fine,” Hitmoi cuts across her before she can even say anything, waving a hand at her. Her inhale is a little shaky. “H- the other girl had to do it too, I know it’s coming. I know everything that’s coming, I just-” she stops talking, looking like she’s struggling to find the right words, and isn’t all too bothered to go looking for them. “No, yeah, it’s fine. I… think I’m gonna go to bed,”

Chaewon can’t stop her eyes from widening, eyebrows raising. “Already?” she doesn’t put much effort into hiding her disappointment. “It’s still early, are you feeling-”

“I’m good, really,” Hitomi takes her hand out of Chaewon’s grasp, standing up and dusting herself down, leaving Chaewon sat there with an open, empty palm. “Night, unnie,”

Hitomi never goes up early. Neither of them ever do, they always call it a night together.

Chaewon sits, in the dark living room, the television casting dull hues of blue onto her skin, and her empty hand lain uselessly on the couch. 

  
  
  


“You’re going to lay low for a while,” Eunbi says, the pale moonlight filtering in through the blinds and into her office. They’re both tired, but equally as determined. “We won’t act immediately, because if things start going wrong the moment you arrive, it won’t take them long to put two and two together,” 

Chaewon nods. It makes sense.

“So for the first while, we won’t try anything. You’ll just report back to us with what you’re doing, how things are going, and giving us anything that you could be of use, no matter how insignificant it may seem. As time goes on, we’ll be able to better judge when to make a move, and what that move may be,” she pauses, tousling at the roots of her hair tiredly. Chaewon herself has to stifle a yawn. “It’ll most likely be a race, showing up in small numbers to start off, to show them that they’re on our radar. The most imperative thing is that you find something that can give us leverage. Cold, hard proof. Dirt on them, I don’t care. Just… something,” she heaves a sigh. “And hopefully, in turn, the inspector we sent in before you,”

Chaewon gives her shoulders a jolt, trying her best to stay awake. “You’re sure you don’t wanna tell me who she is?”

Eunbi gives her a knowing look, and even though Chaewon had known when she asked that she wasn’t going to get anything out of her, it had been worth a shot. “You’re better off, Chaewon-ah,” she chides her, and Chaewon holds up her palms in defeat. “No matter how hard you try, the fact that she’s a detective too will always be on your mind. Assuming that everyone’s against you, it’s your best hope at pulling this off. I can only hope that she’s not contacting us for a reason that she can’t tell us about. That it’s just a plan that she’s got, but…” she purses her lips, waving a hand. “I’m rambling,” she gives her a cheek a gentle pat, again, looking like she’s trying to keep herself awake. “Anyways, back to-”

“Eunbi-unnie,”

Eunbi’s words die on her tongue as Chaewon gently speaks over her. She looks at her expectantly.

“Could… is there the possibility that something could’ve happened to the other girl?” she hesitates, worrying at her lower lip. “Something… bad?”

Eunbi clicks her tongue, and slouches in her seat, seeming to have lost the battle against her own exhaustion. “There’s every possibility,” her voice comes out a little quieter, not the same confident, clear tone that Chaewon so often hears her use. “But I think for the sake of my own sanity… I can’t afford to be pessimistic. I have to believe that she’s out there, somewhere, trying her best to help us through her silence,” she pauses, and the silence is suddenly all too deafening. “I think…” she shakes her head. “I think that if the others see me thinking that something’s gone wrong, then they’ll think  _ what’s the point? If Eunbi doesn’t think it’s going anywhere, why are we bothering at all? _ If I give up, then so do they,” 

“But what if she is?” Chaewon asks, simply because she’s genuinely curious. “What if she’s not okay, or- or something has happened? What if it was all for nothing?”

Eunbi smiles at her, a mixture of bitter and smug. “Well, that’s what we’ve got you for now, isn’t it?” she reminids her. “If something goes wrong, we go again. We get up, and we keep trying,” she points at Chaewon. “You’re going to have to keep on trying,”

Chaewon’s always thought it. Eunbi is an incredible leader. 

  
  
  


Eunbi’s flat is earrily quiet. 

Chaewon supposes it’s nothing out of the ordinary, an empty apartment, but just because it’s ordinary doesn’t mean she’s used to it. She sets her bag down, the soft thud resonating around the practically barren hallway. Usually, when she enters her own hallway, Hitomi is there, or they’re entering together, or some other combination, but the common denominator is that they’re both always there together. Now, she’s going to be staying here in Eunbi’s flat for… God only knows how long, while Eunbi stays with Hyewon instead. 

She’s struck with a sudden sense of loneliness, something she hasn’t felt for a long, long time, stood in the middle of the hallway with the front door still half open behind her. 

It hits her that she’s in this on her own. 

Sure, she’ll have the support of the others, through a phone call, should she ever need it. But they’ll all be at the station, safe, and out of harm's way. Chaewon can’t decide that she’s done enough work for today, or that she’ll take a five minute break and then return to the task at hand. She’s working on this alone. Real time, 

Taking in a deep breath, she locks her fingers together, fidgeting with them mindlessly in a subconscious effort to prevent them from shaking. 

Now, she can go back to the others, and remove the thoughts from the inside of her head, just for a little while. But in a week or so now, she won’t have such a luxury. In a week or so, there won’t be any backing out. 

And Chaewon’s not backing out. No matter how much her stomach churns at night thinking about what she might have to do, no matter how many times she finds herself doused in a cold sweat, she won’t back out.

Because that’s just not the way Chaewon is.

  
  
  


That week or so slowly melts into less than a week, then it’s a few days, and before Chaewon can really comprehend what’s happening, tomorrow’s D-day. 

Hyewon’s invited the small group over, herself, Eunbi obviously, Nako, Hitomi, Yujin, and Chaewon. Kind of like a send-off, Chaewon supposes, but also as a little reward for all the hard work they’ve put in over the past couple months. It’s nothing huge, they sit in Hyewon’s front room and drink cheap alcohol (bar Yujin, who can’t stand the taste, and pouts with a request of “can I just have soda, unnie?”) and try not to fall asleep too early out of sheer exhaustion. They’re a little laughable, really, Chaewon thinks, a group of healthy young women, barely able to stay up till midnight. 

Hitomi and her haven’t spoken since Chaewon moved out. 

It’s never been like this between them before, ever. Whenever they’ve clashed heads in the past, it’s always been over something petty, something minor, like the groceries or something like that.

(“I  _ told _ you not to get this flavour of ramen! It’s disgusting!”

“They didn’t have the one you wanted, what did you want me to do?

“Buy another one,  _ any _ other one, but this one!”

Chaewon recalls the memory with a slight smile)

They’ve always made up within at least half an hour of whatever their stupid argument was about, because for Chaewon, it’s impossible to stay mad at someone like Hitomi. 

This time, however, it’s different. This isn’t some petty fight, a dispute that they’ll have forgotten the cause of after a few hours. This one has been prolonging for nearly two weeks at this stage, and without them living in the same flat anymore, they’re not forced to find a solution like they were once before.

It happens slowly. Everyone slowly but surely nods off, Eunbi cradling Nako’s chin despite the younger girl’s protests, Yujin with her ridiculously, unfairly long limbs hugging onto both of them (Chaewon didn’t think that it’d be possible for someone to get drunk off of Sprite, but Ahn Yujin is nothing if not a prodigy). A sated, very pleased smile is on her face, whilst Nako’s couldn’t be any more opposite. Hyewon had nodded off on the other side of the couch, her hand stretched out in the direction of the bowl of chips, almost like she'd fallen asleep in the midst of reaching for one. Honestly, Chaewon doesn't think she'd be all too surprised if that were actually the case.

That leaves only her and Hitomi left, and when her sluggish brain finally seems to cop the fact that it's only the two of them that are awake now, it's like her senses are heightened. She's no longer sleepy, and she's very much aware of the girl sat on the armchair on the opposite side of the room. 

Hitomi is curled up into a ball, something she tends to to when she's feeling despondent or down, drawing her knees into her chest like a defence mechanism of some sort. She's gently rocking herself back and forth, soothingly, chin propped up on her knees. Chaewon doesn't know if she's off in a world of her own, or if she's straight up ignoring her. It could be either or, but knowing someone like Hitomi, Chaewon really, really hopes that it's the first one. 

So, she presses her lips together. This is her last night before the operation begins, and she'll be damned if she leaves this building without things being clear between them both. 

"Hiichan,"

Hitomi doesn't react, for a moment or two, and then all at once, she's flinching, eyes snapping over in Chaewon's direction. "Oh," she smiles a little sheepishly, cheeks flushed. "Hi, unnie,"

_ A smile _ , Chaewon thinks to herself, a little more optimistic now than before.  _ A smile, that's good. _

Chaewon finds herself not really knowing what to say, but she thinks that Hitomi knows everything regardless. She speaks quietly.

"Can we-"

"Yeah," of course she knows. Hitomi always seems to know what Chaewon’s feeling before Chaewon herself is even aware of it. 

"C'mere,"

Hitomi pads across the carpet, over to the other side of the room where Chaewon is sat, and clambers so that she's sat next to her. It's a bit of a squeeze, both of them together on the arm chair, but Chaewon knows that neither of them mind. She hugs Hitomi close to her, guiding the girl's head to rest on her shoulder as her fingers fall into the familiar motion of combing through her hair. 

Hitomi herself winds her arms around Chaewon's torso, and Chaewon hears her inhale shakily. "Those past few days were awful," she tries for a laugh, but it's unintentionally poignant. "Let's never do that ever again,"

Chaewon inhales deeply, and there’s a certain comfort that Hitomi emits that she’s been missing. “Tell me about it,” she mutters. “We’re both idiots,” 

Hitomi doesn’t say anything for about ten, fifteen seconds. Then, “I shouldn’t have overreacted,” her words are muffled when she turns her head, speaking them into Chaewon’s shoulder. “You’re just doing your job,”

“No, no,” Chaewon shakes her head. “You did it because you care about me, I shouldn’t have been so inconsiderate,” 

Again, Hitomi waits a couple seconds, and Chaewon’s able to hear her resounding heartbeat, gentle and soft in the quiet of the room. “I’m so sorry,” 

“Me too, Hii. Me too, I’m so sorry,” 

Hitomi shifts again, so that she’s looking up at her, wide eyes filled with sleep, and an additional glimmer of hope. Chaewon can’t resist, reaching out to pinch the flesh of her cheek. Hitomi doesn’t even react. “Can we just… just go back to how we always are? You- tomorrow, you’re-”

Chaewon hushes her gently, and holds her closer still. “Already forgotten about,” she reassures her. “You’re okay, I’m okay. We’re  _ okay _ ,” 

Hitomi lets out a gentle sigh, a little shaky, but it sounds relieved. “Thank you,” she whispers, so quiet that Chaewon barely manages to pick it up despite their close proximity. “Thank you, unnie,”

Chaewon tries not to think about tomorrow, and how much she’ll miss her. Tries not to think about how she won’t have Hitomi climbing into her bed for hugs in the early hours of the morning, Chaewon herself still half asleep so she can’t do anything but accept. How they won’t eat breakfast together, Chaewon smearing butter on her cheek while Hitomi chases her around the kitchen, screaming bloody murder. How she won’t be able to work with her anymore, because while they’re best friends first, they’re colleagues second, and they get along like a house on fire. 

Because from tomorrow onwards, Chaewon’s on her own.

  
  
  
  
  
  


The air smells like exhaust fumes.

Thick, smoky plumes of grey that drift beneath the dull, flickering beams of street lamps, only to disappear from view where the light cuts off. The crowd is light, nothing too heavy, but with enough people for anyone with working eyes to be able to see that something is happening. The sound of engines purring and revving is accompanied by loud, drunken chatter, creating an atmosphere that should be somewhat blithe, but for obvious reasons, Chaewon isn’t really feeling it. 

She threads her hands through one of the barriers that separate the road from the pathway, the cold of the metal seeping through her jacket. She watches, eyes narrowed as men and women alike do reruns of their vehicles, some laughing and talking with one another, others hung off to the side, refusing to engage in any sort of concentration. Chaewon tries not too laugh too much at the sight of one man in particular, with spiked, fingerless gloves and an expression much too severe. Not even all the knuckles of the gloves have spikes on them, which is a bit sad to be honest.

Kim’s group preys on people like these.

It’s no secret that the people living in The ‘Skirts are dirt broke, it’s a common fact that applies to pretty much everyone. These people are hungry, desperate for money, first and foremost, and winning a race such as one like this would easily snatch them a way out of one of those holes, with what, the combined entry fees, the bets, and the likes. They probably lose, out of the sheer number of people that participate, but it plants a small seed in their mind. Like a tick of some sort, that urges them to come back, that seduces them into clambering into their car, or onto their bike, and pay that fee, because who knows, you might get it this time.

It’s the same story for the gamblers, except they’re not the ones participating, they’re not the ones who might get hurt, at least not in a physical sense. They keep coming back, because you have to gage who’s the best driver, who’s the one to bet on, who’s actually worth the money that you’ve managed to scrape together. Surely, the more times you come back, the better you’ll be able to see such things, the better you’ll be able to predict. 

Chaewon watches, something ugly curling in her stomach, as she watches the thick throngs of people swarm the betting stand, notes gripped tight in their clenched fists, screaming out numbers and figures, raising the stakes out of sheer desperation. 

She might manage to figure out if someone here is directly affiliated with Kim Minju’s close associates, or even one of those associates themselves, she might not. Her first task is to piece together who here is behind the scheming of the event, and who’s here to directly participate, and if the people here do their job. It shouldn’t be too difficult of a task, but she’ll have to use her own intuition to work from there.

She hangs around this one spot for a while, not rushing herself to try anything too quickly. Again, she doesn’t want to raise suspicions, and getting right into things couldn’t be more skeptical. She has to assume that there’s always someone watching her, that there’s always someone on her back, if she’s to get used to how to behave in environments like this one. So, she people-watches for a while, and tries to settle the racing of her heart. 

“Good evening,”

Upon hearing those words, Chaewon curses herself for being too wrapped up in her own thoughts to pay attention to what was going on around her. She turns to her left, and sees a girl, peering at her unabashedly. 

Again, mentally swearing at her heart to calm down, she puts up a casual front. “Hi,” 

Through the darkness, it’s difficult to make out the girl’s features, but Chaewon just about manages. Her hair is short, dark, the thick strands just about tickling the base of her neck. The majority of her face is covered up by a mask, but her eyes are youthful, wide, holding a certain brightness to them as she tilts her head in Chaewon’s direction. She’s dressed appropriately for the cold, darkly, with a hat that covers her ears.

“I’ve never seen you here before,” the girl starts off. Her voice is low, yet pleasant to listen to. It’s not dull, or droning. It’s got a warm timbre to it.

Despite everything, and the way her fingers quiver, Chaewon can’t help but snort. There’s a high chance that this girl isn’t even a part of any sort of crew, and is just here for a good time, the same way Chaewon has to convince the girl that she herself is. “Was that a poor attempt at a pick-up line?” 

The girl laughs at that, a comforting sound, loud and completely shameless. “You wish,” she replies, mimicking Chaewon’s position and threading her arms through the barrier. “Maybe I would if I weren’t occupied, you are quite pretty. But unfortunately for you, I’m just genuinely curious, I’ve never seen you here before. What’s your name?” 

At the start of conversation, Chaewon relaxes a little. She’s good with this, she’s good with people when she wants to be. “Chaewon,” she responds, darting her eyes to the girl’s arms, to show she’s aware that she’s mimicking her slightly, but choosing to ignore it. “You?”

“Yuri,” the girl - Yuri - answers, pulling down her mask to her chin. “So. First time?”

Chaewon folds her arms. Yuri follows suit.  _ Petty.  _ “Does it matter?”

Yuri lets out a low whistle, giving Chaewon a knowing look. “Look at me, trying to start up a conversation, and getting completely shot down,” she turns her attention back out to the road, eyes darting between the different racers. “I’ll take that as a yes, then,”

“Well, what about you?”

Yuri purses her lips together, and uncrosses her arms, leaning on the railing again. “Definitely not my first time, no,” she shakes her head. “I’m a regular, that’s why you stand out,” she tilts her head in the direction of the racers. “I know someone who races,” her eyes keep scanning them, and she lets out a sigh. “She’s… somewhere. She keeps running off, the bitch. Too social for her own good,” she quirks her brow in Chaewon’s direction. “So, that’s why I’m bothering you,”

“I’m flattered,” Chaewon deadpans. “If she keeps running off, you must be great company,” 

Yuri laughs at that again, her breath coming out in small, white puffs of condensation. She doesn’t say anything in response, but that same, amused smile plays on her lips. 

There’s a few beats of awkward silence between them, that Chaewon assumes just comes with meeting someone new.  _ She knows someone who races _ , she thinks to herself, a little dejected, but certainly nowhere near giving up.  _ She must just be here as someone who watches. _

When Yuri speaks up, her voice is airy, laidback and easy-going. 

“The moon looks like it’s on the verge of death,”

Chaewon stills.

_ Or maybe not. _

As soon as Yuri says the sentence, Eunbi’s words from earlier on in the month come flooding back to her. 

_ “One thing that we were able to figure out is that to be able to watch these races, is that you need a code to get in. Luckily, it’s one of the few things the previous infiltrator was able to tell us,”  _

_ Chaewon nods. “Makes sense,” _

_ “You can walk around the area just fine, because it’s a public area after all, they can’t just close it off, but they have people who go around asking people for this code. And if they don’t have it, they very kindly escort them out,” she says that last part while making inverted commas with her fingers, implying that that very much isn’t the case,” _

_ “So what is it?” _

_ “They’ll come up to you, and say that the moon is on the verge of death,” _

“That’s because it surrendered to the sun,” Chaewon rattles off the line on instinct, not even having to think about it. There had been so many a time where Eunbi would just randomly drop it into conversation, they could be talking about anything, and Eunbi would just bring it up without missing a beat. It had taken some time, but eventually, she started saying it in response without even thinking.

So, Yuri asking her means that she isn’t  _ just _ here as a spectator after all. Meaning that she works under someone for her to be asking Chaewon in the first place. 

“Well shit,” Yuri sounds impressed. “And I was sure that you were only here because you were in the wrong place at the wrong time,” 

“The only thing that was wrong was you,”

Yuri grins. “You’re witty. I like you,” she states, just out of blue. Even though it takes Chaewon by surprise, she takes it in her stride. “And now that we’ve had a little chat, I’m gonna ask you again,” she leans in closer, and even though Chaewon’s a little taller, it’s almost like she’s looking down on her. “Why are you here?”

Chaewon stares at her, for a moment, not backing down. “For the fun of it,” she responds calmly. “I move around a lot, meet a lot of people. Word passes quickly, I’m surprised that the password is still the same after all this time,” 

Yuri hums. “I suppose we would, change it I mean, but it’s not really worth our time. Half of these idiots aren’t clever enough to cop that it’s changed, and I’d bet anything we’d lose half of our beloved customers,” the girl’s lip curls as she speaks. 

“ _ Our. _ ” Chaewon repeats. “So you work here but also coincidentally know someone in the race,” 

Yuri tilts her head in consideration. “Well realistically, I know loads of people in this race. They don’t know me, but I know them,” 

Chaewon decides she’s not even going to ask. 

“But I do know people racing, don’t worry, I wouldn’t lie about needing to be in your company,”

Chaewon hums along. “Yeah, you had me distressed for a moment there. Do people who work here race too?” she decides that after this one, she’ll lay off the questions for the night. While curiosity is natural for a first timer, she doesn’t want to come across as too inquisitive.

“Well me personally, no,” Yuri shakes her head. “But the others do, keep the others in check. They’re tricky to beat, but sometimes they lose on purpose, just to fuck the bets over. Makes things more fun,”

Chaewon raises a brow. “And you’re telling me this because…?” when Yuri only shrugs as a response, she continues on. “I could go bet right now, or let everyone know that the people they’re gambling on actually work here,”

Yuri lets out another laugh, bright and sweet, yet with that same, low timbre. “You’re cute, you know that?” she croons, and if she hadn’t stated otherwise earlier, Chaewon really would’ve been convinced that she was being flirted with. “People might be stupid, but they’re not that dense. They know they work here. It doesn’t make anything any easier, because you might bet on them knowing they’ll probably be the fastest, but you’ll do that knowing that they could also fuck you over,”

“Gloating about me again?”

A new voice joins the conversation, and Chaewon leans back to look past Yuri to see who it is. Another girl moves to stand next to her, and the wave of nerves Chaewon had just gotten rid of washes all over her again. She’d just gotten used to how to communicate with Yuri, and now someone else, someone else who probably works here, has come along. Chaewon eyes the helmet that the girl has tucked underneath her elbow, and soon figures out that this must be the girl that Yuri was referring to earlier. Like Yuri, she’s dressed darkly, but their styles are almost definitely different. While Yuri’s clothes are warm, cozy, this girl seems to have made some sacrifices for her fashion. Her jeans are black, ripped, and if they’re causing her to be cold, she does a good job at hiding it. A leather jacket has been thrown over her hoodie, her hair mostly hidden by a cap bar for the dark brown tuft tied up messily at the base of her neck.

Yuri tuts, crossing her arms defiantly and jutting out her chin. “I wasn’t gloating,” she huffs out. “I was just stating things as they are,” she glares in the girl’s direction, although it’s easy for Chaewon to see that it definitely isn’t sincere. “Where were you?”

The girl gives her head a tilt, like the question is just as confusing for her as it is for Yuri. “Couldn’t find my bike, it was weird. I thought I parked it by the starting line, but no. Ran into people on the way too, stopped for a chat,”

_ Way too social for her own good, _ Chaewon remembers. 

The girl tilts her head in Chaewon’s direction. “Who’s this?” she doesn’t sound like she cares too much about who Chaewon actually is, moreso focused on what Yuri’s doing with her.

“This,” Yuri starts off by throwing an arm over Chaewon’s shoulder. “Is Chaewon. She’s my new friend,”

Chaewon blinks at her in surprise. It hadn’t been discussed, but hey, if Yuri works here, Chaewon certainly isn’t going to turn the offer of a friendship down. Yuri turns to her, gesturing in the girl’s direction. “This is Yena. She’s the one that got in the way of my opportunity to flirt with you, sorry,”

Yena raises an eyebrow, standing up a little straighter. “Excuse me?”

Yuri grins. “Nothing!” she sing-songs. “You don’t need to worry, you know that,”

Yena scoffs. “Fucking right I shouldn’t,” she mutters, and next to her, Yuri giggles. Yena gestures to Chaewon again. “Is she new? I’ve never seen her before,”

In any other situation, Chaewon would’ve said something along the lines of “I’m right here you know!” but she’s trying to avoid conflict, so she keeps her mouth shut no matter how hard her brain pushes her to do otherwise. 

“First time,” Yuri confirms. “She kept me company while you wandered off, you should be thankful,”

Yena looks Chaewon in the eye, and something about it is a little chilling. She’s not doing anything in particular, and Chaewon can’t quite put her finger on it. She’s a little intimidating, she has to admit, but she’s not letting it phase her. “Thanks for babysitting,” She says, a smile finally breaking out on her face when Yuri gasps in mock (?) offence, reaching out the arm that was wrapped around Chaewon’s shoulders to hit her lightly.

“Bitch,” she utters under her breath. “You’re just jealous,”

“You wish I was jealous,” Yena corrects her, and Yuri only grumbles under her breath, not denying it but not agreeing with her either. She shuffles a little closer to Yena, who threads an arm over her shoulders. Yena regards Chaewon, again, pursing her lips in a similar fashion to how Yuri did. Or rather, now that Chaewon thinks about it, maybe it’s Yuri who does it in a similar fashion to Yena. “How come you’re here?”

Chaewon just relays to her what she said to Yuri. “I was bored. I got the password from a friend, so I said I’d see what all the fuss was about,”

Yena arches a brow. “Not betting?”

Chaewon shakes her head. “Not today, no,”

Yuri crosses her arms, but further leans into Yena nonetheless. “You just want her to bet on you,”

Yena holds up a palm in defeat. “I’ve got an ego,”

They’re not what Chaewon had expected to meet here tonight, and they’re not really the characters she’d anticipated would be working under Kim Minju. The more she thinks about it, the more she’s doubting that they work directly with her, and are moreso in the lower rankings, pawns that she pushes out onto the board while she sits at the back, observing. 

They mightn’t be anything close, but they’re something. Something better than Chaewon ever could’ve expected for her first night. If she somehow manages to stick with these two, maybe with Yuri moreso, since she seems to have taken a somewhat liking to her, she can work from there. 

“Yena-unnie?”

Another voice cuts through Chaewon’s thoughts, and she’s really starting to wonder just how many people they’ve got working here. She leans back again, having to see past both Yuri and Yena, and sees a figure standing a distance away from them. 

Like Yuri, a mask is over her face, and like Yena, a cap sits atop her head, casting a shadow over her face that makes it difficult to make out her features. Long, dark hair spills over her shoulder, and she’s quite tall, Chaewon supposes, in comparison to herself. She’s stood with a hand on her hip, impatient looking. 

Yena looks at her, away from Chaewon, and she instantly nods at the sight of her. “Yeah yeah, sorry, coming now,” 

Yuri looks surprised. “Is it starting already?” she pulls back her sleeve to reveal a watch, squinting her eyes to peer at it closely. 

Chaewon makes a note of it - the watch is thick, heavy looking, gleaming gold, studded with diamonds that sparkle even in the low light of the streetlamps. 

She frowns. 

That’s not the watch of someone in the lower ranks. 

“Shit, time flew by,” Yuri throws Chaewon an impressed look. “You pass the time well,” 

“You keep flattering me,”

Yena moves to take her arm off of Yuri’s shoulder, but the tall girl waves a hand at her, shaking her head. She approaches them instead, and Chaewon watches her closely. 

“What are you, some kind of celebrity?” Yena pokes fun at her, reaching up and giving the peak of the girl’s cap a gentle tug. “Hiding your face like this. Surprised you’re not wearing fucking sunglasses,” 

The girl does absolutely nothing but ignore her, which Yuri seems to find quite amusing. The girl looks past both her and Yena, and because of the shadow casted over her face, it takes Chaewon a couple seconds to realise that the girl is looking right at her.

“What’s your name?”

Chaewon blinks at her in surprise, pointing to herself. “Me? Chaewon,” 

The girl doesn’t say anything in response, rather turning back to Yuri and Yena. She doesn’t say anything to either of them, but they seem to know regardless what she’s asking. “First timer,” Yuri explains. “Got the password from a friend,” 

The girl hums, and subconsciously, Chaewon shudders. 

Her gaze locks in on Chaewon once more, unmoving and unblinking, and it takes every bit of Chaewon’s effort not to squirm. It’s awkward, yet at the same time, Chaewon takes it as something like a challenge. She doesn’t back down, or break eye contact, despite being very aware of both Yuri and Yena peering at them both. 

Eventually, after what feels like hours, but was perhaps only a few seconds, Chaewon catches the girl’s mask shifting, indicating the movement of her lips underneath. Her gaze flicks down,  _ down _ , and back up again, a prolonged movement that certainly doesn’t go amiss to Chaewon.

_ What the fuck. _

Their little staring contest is over as soon as it’s started, and Chaewon subtly lets out a breath she wasn’t even aware she was holding as the girl derives her attention from her. The girl’s hand moves up to her cap, slender fingers curling around its peak.

“The betting’s done,” she says. “People’ll hang around, try some shit, you know,” she nods in Yuri’s direction. “Just keep an eye out and make note. We’ll handle it after,” 

Yuri nods her head. “Got it,”

Yena takes her arm off Yuri’s shoulders, and Chaewon sees Yuri visibly slump, even if it’s not much. “We should go, people are getting set up,” 

The girl hums again, and it’s then that she takes off her cap. 

It’s nothing particularly impressive, and Chaewon is only paying such rapt attention because that’s her job. The majority of her face is still hidden by her mask, but her eyes. 

Chaewon knows those eyes. She’s been staring at, studying pictures of those eyes for the past three months. They’re practically imprinted on her brain at his stage.

Kim Minju brushes her hair back from her face, tousling the roots with her fingertips, and Chaewon is really only staring because it’s what Eunbi sent her out here to do. 

The pictures the unit had taken of Minju before, Chaewon suddenly becomes hyper-aware, really don’t do her any justice. Her eyes are dark, glinting in the amber light, but they’re wide in a sense that could convince someone of innocence. They’re outlined by a thick spray of lashes that Chaewon’s sure anyone would envy, and her hair frames her face in way so perfect it’s almost cartoon-ish. 

Kim Minju dusts down her cap casually, and then, those eyes are snapping back up to regard Chaewon again. Even though Chaewon can’t see her lips, her gaze tells that she’s finding slight bemusement in her, the way one of her eyebrows quirks just slightly.

Chaewon can’t stop the way her fingertips quiver at her sides, so she clasps them together in front of her, digging her nails into her palms. She hadn’t really known what to expect tonight. She’d imagined a limitless array of scenes and scenarios inside her head, of who she might meet, what she might see, what she might have to do. But never, in a million years, had she imagined she’d see Kim Minju, so plainly and so openly, so early into the night. Little did she think she’d have spoken to her, that Minju would know her name. 

“You,” Minju says, and Chaewon swears if she were any closer, she’d be able to hear the way her heart is thundering in her chest. Because she’s intimidating, Chaewon isn’t going to deny it, and she’s admittedly more than a panicked. Her palms have gone clammy, cold with sweat.

“Hold onto this for me?”

Chaewon stares at her. 

Minju has her hand outstretched, cap held between those lithe, delicate-looking fingers by its peak, in Chaewon’s direction. 

She phrases it like it’s a question. Yet somehow, Chaewon doesn’t know why, it sounds like it’s an order. A demand that Chaewon can’t say no to.

“Uh, yeah. Sure,” Chaewon responds rather eloquently, and definitely with confidence. She tries to keep a steady hand as she takes the cap off her, and once she does so, Minju looks away, and back to Yena.

“Ready?” she takes a step, backwards, in the direction of the entrance to the track, tilting her head in its direction. 

“Sure, yeah,” Yena nods, and then quickly turns to Yuri, pressing a short kiss to her cheek. “See you,”

Chaewon takes a mental note of it, storing the information in the back of her mind.  _ They’re definitely together.  _

Yuri hums in reply, sounding a bit out of it. “See you,” 

The two exchange a look, a mixture of confusion and surprise that they communicate with a brief meeting of eyes, before Yena is turning on her heel and following Minju into the crowd. 

Both Chaewon and Yuri stand in silence for a moment, Yuri stood there with something akin to bewilderment painted on her features. She blinks rapidly, looking like she’s trying to gather her thoughts together but they’re moving too fast for her to see. Eventually, she rubs at the back of her neck, letting out a short, singular breath of laughter. “What the fuck?”

Chaewon gives herself a mental kick, jerking her head to the side to bring herself back to reality. The target was right there. She’s spoken to the target, hell, she’s holding onto the target’s cap. 

Chaewon agrees with Yuri wholeheartedly.  _ What the fuck? _

“She just-” Yuri cuts herself off, looking at Chaewon, then Minju, and back to Chaewon again. Looks at the cap in Chaewon’s hand, and back to Chaewon’s face. “She will never cease to surprise me,” she shakes her head, muttering moreso to herself than to Chaewon, but Chaewon picks up the words regardless. 

Chaewon looks down at the cap in her hands, and realises that she’s perhaps gripping onto it maybe that bit too tight. Minju could’ve given the cap to Yuri, or Yena, hell, she could’ve kept it on her for the duration of the race. Giving the cap to Chaewon… that means Chaewon has to stick around to give it back to her. It means she can’t leave. It means that Minju has every interaction of talking with her afterwards.

Chaewon lets out a slow, controlled breath. It’s overwhelming, but it’s… it’s so much further than she expected to be by the end of night one. She thought she’d have to find someone who worked here, somehow force the information about Minju’s associates out of them, and stick around with them for a while before making herself known to Minju herself. Now, she’s only a couple hours in, and she’s already got promise of Minju coming back for a second conversation. 

Taking in another breath, Chaewon tells herself that she’s not going to let this opportunity pass by. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


After the race ends, chaos ensues.

People are drunk, tired, and most likely angered if they didn’t win, and multiple fights break out that Chaewon sees Yuri watch with mild enjoyment. They’d both moved to the other side of the road and towards the back end where most of the vehicles are, sheltered from the crowd by a canopy of a broken, stone bridge that dangles precariously above them. 

Chaewon had offered the cap to Yuri, after the race was over, but she’d only laughed at her. “You’ll want to hold onto that, trust me. She didn’t just give it to you for the fun of it,”

Yuri ducks beneath a barrier, and Chaewon follows suit, weaving through the cars and bikes that have decided to linger around after the race, some only dismounting their vehicles as they pass them by.

It doesn’t take long for Yuri to spot Yena, and Chaewon doesn’t need to be a detective to guess that those two have a connection that runs much deeper than what she’s seeing on the surface, even from what little she’s witnessed. 

With the ambiatic background noise of slurred curses and enraged threats and shattering glass, Chaewon watches as Yena takes off her helmet when her and Yuri approach her. Chaewon isn’t all too sure what to do, but she soon settles with slipping off to the side as the two get closer, more focused on finding Minju than she is on how capable they are of testing one another’s lung capacity. 

She wanders around for a bit, Chaewon, making sure that she knows of Yuri and Yena’s general area, just in case she ends up not being able to find Minju. She takes note of the people who had partaken in the race, and physical features that stand out, mainly out of habit at this stage. She does her best to avoid eye contact, not wanting to get swirled up in another conversation and become distracted.

She eventually does find Minju, towards the edge of the main body of the small crowd, hunched down, and examining the wheel of her car with her back to Chaewon. She traces those delicate looking fingers over the hubcap, seeming to be lost in thought. It’s a strange sight, Chaewon thinks. Such pretty, lithe things against the roughness of the stained hubcap. The car is nothing fancy, Chaewon also acknowledges. It’s not the car of someone you’d think would possess a lot of money; it’s scratched, with it’s fair share of dents, and the exterior doesn’t look like it’s gotten a good clean in over a year. 

Wanting to speak up before she gets caught staring, Chaewon speaks up. “Hey, excuse me?

Minju turns around to look at her, her hand dropping from the grime of the hubcap, and joining her other in resting on her knees. 

She’s not wearing a mask this time around, Chaewon immediately notices, because really, it’s something that’s hard to ignore. With the entirety of her face on display, 

Chaewon subconsciously takes her time to give credit where credit is due. The curve of Minju’s lips are a soft pink, matching the light hue on her cheeks. In contrast, her jawline is sharp, as with her cheekbones, the light from the streetlamp casting down on her heightening them in an almost severe manner. Her dark hair frames her face elegantly, so dark it almost appears blue, matching the black of her irises that blends with her pupils.

Her face is completely unreadable, for a fraction of a second, and then a look of understanding passes over her visage.

“It’s you,” she tilts her head, hair falling over her shoulder, swinging like a pendulum in a mesmerising manner. “Chaewon, wasn’t it?”

Chaewon nods her head, perhaps a bit too quickly. “Yeah, that’s me,” she confirms, and her voice is a little thick. She clears it. “I uh, have your hat,” she holds up the item in question for Minju to see.

“Ah, yes,” Minju stands up at that, and she definitely has a couple of inches on Chaewon. Chaewon finds herself looking up at her. “I’d almost forgotten about that,” her tone suggests that no, actually, she most certainly hadn’t forgotten.

She takes the hat off of Chaewon, brushing her hair back from her forehead again before placing it snug atop her head. “Thank you, for bringing it to me, I was going to find you,”

Her tone. Chaewon’s not a fucking fool, she’d be pretty fucking shit at her job if she were.

It’s flirtatious. Blatantly, flagrantly, flirtatious. 

_ “Don’t be modest about this yeah?” _ Chaewon recalls Eunbi telling her, late one night in her office _. “You’re fucking pretty, Chaewon. Don’t be modest about it and use it to your advantage,” _

_ Yeah,  _ Chaewon could almost laugh, if her heart weren’t beating so fast it’s threatening to fall past her lips.  _ Easy in theory, when Kim Minju isn’t stood right in front of you.  _

Chaewon presses her lips together, and takes in a breath that she thinks is slightly less shaky than before. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” she insists. “And besides…” 

Minju quirks a brow at her as she continues her sentence.

“I never asked you your name,”

Minju regards her with that same expression for a few moments, before she’s laughing lightly. “This really is your first time here, isn’t it?”

Chaewon nods, slowly. “That is what I said,”

_ If only you knew.  _

Kim Minju holds out a hand for her to shake. “I’m Minju,” 

Chaewon obliges, and grips that delicate hand of hers, not too hard, yet not too limp. Her palm is cold to the touch, almost icy, though Chaewon supposes its reasonable, given the current climate.

“Oh? There they are!”

Chaewon looks up to see Yuri and Yena approaching them, Yuri dragging Yena along by the hand whilst Yena watches, a mixture of amusement and fondness smeared on her otherwise snarky looking features. 

Minju lets Chaewon’s hand go, and Chaewon’s falls limp by her side. She tries not to think about the exchange too much, forcing it to the back of her mind. Out of everything, it’s really the least of her worries.

“We were looking for you guys,” Yuri says with a huff, in that slightly petulant, fractious way she has of speaking. “Thought you left without us,”

“Don’t tempt me,” Minju utters under her breath, and if either Yuri or Yena hear it, they don’t respond.

“I see you got your hat back,” Yena gestures to the black cap on Minju’s head, and now that Chaewon looks at it, it matches Yena’s own one.

“Clever of you to notice,” Minju replies, lips quirking just slightly, a finger tracing its peak.

“I also see that Chaewon’s still here,” Yena pushes further, then shoots Chaewon a quick look, almost as if to say  _ no offence. _

Chaewon wonders how she’s supposed to  _ not _ take offence, really. 

Minju turns her head to look at Chaewon again, her eyes repeating that same movement from earlier, dragging down, and back up again.

Chaewon swallows thickly.

“How right you are,”

Yena grits her teeth, and she hears Yuri spluttering off to the side. “Aren’t we meant to be…” she trails off, gesturing to Minju’s car with her free hand. It takes Chaewon a moment to piece it together, but she eventually sees that it’s the hubcap that Yena’s referring to, the same one that Minju had been crouched in front of when Chaewon had first approached her. 

“That can wait,” Minju brushes her off. “Didn’t I promise you guys drinks earlier?”

Yuri points a finger at her. “You most certainly did, yes,”

“Well that’s settled then,” Minju straightens her shoulders, pushing her hair back behind her shoulder from where it had been obstructing her view. She looks at Chaewon again. “Would you like to join us?” 

Again, it’s like last time. She phrases it like a question, however it comes out like a demand. 

Yena clicks her tongue off to the side, throwing a hand up in frustration. “Minju-”

“ _ Yena _ ,” Minju cuts her off, tone firm and unargumentative. The two of them look at each other, stares hard and unblinking, and Chaewon swears she hears the tension crackling in the air between them. 

But, it doesn’t take long for Yena to give in, looking away and heaving another sigh. “Fine, whatever, I don’t care,” she turns around, and begins walking, Yuri having no choice but to follow suit. “I’m ordering the most expensive shit on that fucking menu, and there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it!” she calls out over her shoulder, and through the night, Chaewon hears Yuri’s laughter flutter melodically. 

Minju shakes her head. “Pardon her. She’s just… too good at what she does,”

Chaewon folds her arms, mostly because it’s getting colder as the night continues on. “Is being a first-timer really that big of a deal?”

Minju’s lips curl into something complacent. “Something like that,” she answers vaguely, beginning to follow the same path that Yuri and Yena are taking. “You’re not busy or anything, are you?” she asks, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her jacket. “You’re okay to join us?”

Once more, the answer is already implied, regardless of whether Chaewon’s actually available or not. 

She shrugs, following behind her. “I came out here because I was bored,” she reminds her, but also as a way of emphasising it and ingraining it into Minju’s head. “Free drinks? Boredom cured,”

  
  
  


Chaewon follows behind Minju as they make their way further and further into the winding streets, barren and colourless bar for the amber tint provided by the fading, flickering streetlamps. Emerald green shards of broken glass crunch beneath her heel when she isn’t watching her step, that all-too familiar stench of drink that seems to permeate every street corner, that hangs thick and hefty in the air, seeping into her nostrils. She probably should’ve brought a mask with her, envious of Yuri and Minju who have theirs hiked up on their noses. 

They don’t walk for too long, but at some point along the way Chaewon begins to grow suspicious. Of course, they have no idea who she is, but taking someone out for a drink whomst you’ve just met, at the place you run no less, does strike Chaewon as a little odd. Even though Yena had seemed very much against the idea, (Chaewon doesn’t blame her in the slightest), Minju’s beguiling act could very much have been a front to convince her to come along with them. 

She doesn’t know what they might want with her, or what they might  _ do _ to her, should that be the case, but she reminds herself that no matter how they appear on the surface, she knows what kinds of people these girls are. 

Yuri, if Chaewon were to meet her on the street, or fall into natural conversation with her in a shop or something, wouldn’t think anything of her. At first, during their first few strung sentences, Chaewon had assumed she was simply a spectator, who thought that Chaewon was too. It was only when she’d asked her for the code that her aura had changed, suggesting to Chaewon that it was simply a facade put on to see if she could try and catch Chaewon out. 

Chaewon doesn’t think she knows what to make of Yena yet. She’s quite the contrasting personality, coming across as quite tender towards Yuri, yet strong-headed otherwise. At this stage, Chaewon’s really only got a surface view of each of them, and if she succeeds in making an impression on Minju tonight, and these two work closely under her, then she’ll be able to draw more accurate conclusions later on. 

Minju herself… up until now, she’s been nothing but numbers to Chaewon. Facts and figures with a hauntingly beautiful face to go alongside them. Those figures still very much remain, and will continue to do so no matter how well Chaewon gets to know her, but she supposes knowing someone personally, and seeing their side of the story… Chaewon knows it can’t be helped should she ever feel any sort of empathy.

She’d expected Minju to be… well, she doesn’t know quite what, exactly. She hadn’t expected to catch sight of her until, like, a month into the operation, and that would be if she were lucky. Perhaps she’d painted a picture of a stereotypical, petty crime gang, someone stoic and straight-faced and uncaring. And while yes, she does come across as the quietest of the three girls (not in a shy sense, though. Chaewon had never thought of the quiet as unnerving, but she does now), she’s not completely detached. They seem to have an almost - a friendship, if Chaewon could call it that? - between them, bouncing off one another in an effortless manner.

One thing she does note is that Yena seems to be more challenging of Minju than Yuri is. While Yuri seems to take whatever it is into her stride, Yena will poke fun at her, or mock her, which Minju will either ignore or respond to with a disinterested hum. 

Minju might be the leader of this group, but Yena doesn’t seem to find any harm in riling her up. 

Yuri turns a corner all of a sudden, seeming to know the area well, cutting into a dark alleyway with Yena close behind her.

Chaewon hesitates, on the brink between dimness and blackout. This screams danger to her, and in literally any other situation, Chaewon would turn on her heel and walk in the opposite direction. 

But, Eunbi had made herself clear. Numerous times. 

_ No matter how much your conscious would scream at you to not do something, you’d have to go through with it.  _

Minju turns around, her hair practically invisible in the darkness, and with her hat atop her head and mask over her nose, only her eyes are apparent. “You okay?”

She says it like a challenge. 

Chaewon shakes out her shoulders. “Yeah,” she replies, not wanting to say too much, out of fear that Minju will be able to figure out that she’s very much the opposite.

They don’t delve that deep into the alleyway, thankfully, Yuri and Yena waiting for them by a rusted, colourless door, with a light that had just about flickered to life once they moved beneath it. 

Yena pushes open the door, the hinges wailing in a manner that makes Chaewon’s teeth water. They step inside, Chaewon insisting that Minju goes ahead of her, not wanting anyone to be behind her. She feels a little bit more comfortable being able to see them all in front of her, as they step into a narrow, dark corridor. The door shutting behind her, Chaewon can just about hear the faint sounds of light conversation, low and not particularly loud. Their footsteps echo through the quiet, floorboards creaking beneath their feet, and Chaewon swears that if it weren’t for that extra layer of talk that’s seeping through the cracks in the walls, Minju in front of her would be able to hear the way her heart is hammering inside her ribcage.

They pass by a right hand turn, Chaewon having no clue where it goes, looking down it for a moment as the walls fade into black, before moving quickly to catch up with the others. It doesn’t take long for them to come to a door, heavy looking, which Yena manages to wrench open with a bit of effort. Instead of a room, or another length of corridor like Chaewon had expected, there’s a small, square space, gleaming with two walls made of metal, and two who’s surface area is mostly taken up by mirrors. Buttons dot the wall on the left, rimmed with red and green. 

It’s a lift.

Chaewon stares at it, a little dumfounded. Compared to the exterior of the building, and the corridor she’s stood in right now, the lift seems like it was just installed yesterday with how clean it seems. The mirrors don’t seem to have a spec of dust on them, gleaming spotlessly, the metallic interior so polished Chaewon can see her reflection in it from here. 

The others step into the lift, so Chaewon quickly follows suit. It’s a quick affair, the ride up, but one that Chaewon feels drags on for way too long before they finally come to a smooth stop.

The doors part seamlessly, the other three wasting no time in walking out, whereas Chaewon takes her time, peering beyond their shoulders to catch a glimpse of what’s in front of her.

She breathes out a quiet sigh of relief.

It’s a small room, like a bar designed for no more than twenty people. There’s a few tables, sparsely occupied, and a minibar lined with six stools. The lighting in the room is low, the majority of the illumination coming from a rather expensive looking display of brightly coloured bottles on the back wall behind the bar itself. The carpet is a plush red, matching the shade of the padding on the seats, the walls trimmed with gold linings, and soft, quiet music coming from… somewhere. Chaewon’s too overwhelmed to really take notice.

This place is… expensive. Luxurious. She wasn’t even aware places like this existed in The Outskirts, has never seen anything like it. 

What seems otherworldly to her doesn’t seem to phase the others in the slightest. Yena instantly sheds herself of her jacket, letting out a loud sigh, taking off her cap and pushing at the roots of her hair. “Hey!”

She calls out in the direction of the singular barman, stood in front of the display of bottles, cleaning a thinly-stemmed glass with a cloth. He’s dressed smartly, like something out of a movie Chaewon would watch with Hitomi on a Saturday night, and he looks up the moment Yena speaks.

He smiles, as warm and as welcoming as he can be while trying to hide the forceness of it. “Ah, Ms. Kim. Welcome,”

Yena quirks an eyebrow, sitting herself down on one of the stools, not looking too impressed. “Ms. Choi is here too,” she gestures to herself, and Chaewon files more of that information away. 

_ Choi Yena. _

The bartender gives her a tight lipped smile, looking like he’d just bitten into a lemon and is trying his best to hide it. “Of course she is,” he sets down the glass and the cloth, taking a step back. “I’ll be with you-” he cuts himself off, looking at Chaewon and clearly not reconising her. “With you four in a moment,” 

  
  
  
  
  


Chaewon keeps Minju drinking.

It’s not that difficult a task. The bartender continuously offers, and Chaewon responds on both of their behalf, ignoring the side-eyes he shoots her. Whenever they’re served, she’ll take a sip of hers, or two, before pushing it over to Minju and insisting that she has it. Minju doesn’t put up a fight, accepting easily, downing one just in time for Chaewon to call in another round.

Minju is… she doesn’t really know how to describe it. She doesn’t speak in excess, and everything that comes out of her mouth is one hundred percent intended. Their conversation is nothing heavy, Chaewon subtly ensuring they stay on the topic of the races, and not to anything much about she herself. She does her best to occasionally slip in a phrase, or a word, with just the slightest of coquettish undertones… but again… Minju doesn’t make that difficult either.

Chaewon doesn’t dwell on it too much, because it could just be a natural air about her, and a way in which she treats everyone, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t use it to her advantage. It’s a nice surface area to brush, for now. It won’t last if she keeps things up the way she is now, but that’s for further down the road. For now, she just needs to make sure Minju remembers her after tonight. 

“You said you move around a lot,” Minju traces the rim of her glass with a singular finger. “What’s that like?”

Chaewon purses her lips, pretending to think. Anything she says here, she can’t forget. This lie has to be flawless, inpermeable. She’s run through every little detail with Hyewon numerous times, but she can’t afford to slip up. 

She shrugs nonchalantly, scrunching up her nose in distaste. “Jobs are fucking hard to seal. We’re not all…” she gestures in Minju’s direction. “Whatever the hell you wanna call yourself,”

Minju hums, lips quirking. Chaewon could almost describe the sound as soothing. 

“What is this place anyway?” she asks. “I’ve never been. Or seen it, it’s not like… other places here,”

Minju looks around the room like it couldn’t be anymore ordinary. “Hmm. I suppose it’s not, is it?” she gestures to her glass. “I suppose I like the drinks,”

Chaewon blinks. “The drinks? That’s all?”

Minju tilts her head. “They’re a contributing factor, yeah,” she pauses, and then “You should be able to tell by now, you’ve had me on them all night,”

Chaewon freezes. Minju isn’t looking at her, rather finding amusement in the liquid in the bottom of her glass.  _ Shit shit shit shit. _ “I don’t-”

“I’m not that easy,” Minju cuts across her.. “You’ve kept the drinks coming for me all night,” she holds up the one in her hand and takes a pointed sip, before continuing on. “So tell me. Why?”

Chaewon takes in a breath. Okay, so she’d been caught out, but she can work with that. She decides that if she’s going to get anywhere, she can’t be afraid of taking a risk.

“Alright. I’ll be honest with you, then,”

Minju raises a brow, peering at her over the rim of her glass as she takes another sip of her drink. She hums in question, before swallowing and placing the drink down on the bar again.

Chaewon doesn’t answer right away, pressing her lips together. She leans forward, crossing her arms on the bar and leaning on them. “I know exactly who you are,”

She keeps her eyes trained on the array of brightly coloured and labelled bottles in front of her, not wanting to see what Minju’s reaction is right away. There’s a beat of silence, and for a brief second, Chaewon thinks that she’s made the wrong decision. That Minju’s going to scoff, and kick her out without another word. That she’s going to have to go back to Eunbi after only one day, and say that she’s failed. 

But, to her surprise, she hears Minju laughing. Although it’s not the kind of laughter you emit when you find something funny, and something more along the lines of laughing at her, Chaewon will take it. 

“Do you?” Minju asks her, even though she knows the answer, that same bemusement laced into her words.

Chaewon hums, bobbing her head as best she can against the cushion of her forearms in reply. “I said it before, I’ve moved around a lot, met a lot of people. I know a few things,”

“So then,” Minju counters, and out of the corner of her eye, Chaewon sees Minju mimicking her position, leaning forward and resting her chin on her crossed arms. “Enlighten me. Who am I?”

Chaewon turns her head to look at her, analysing her carefully. Minju doesn’t seem all too bothered by Chaewon’s sudden declaration, in fact she seems to find it quite enjoyable. Chaewon doesn’t know why that irks her, but it does.

She takes in a breath. “That race. All of them, all the races. You run all of them. You’re in charge,”

Minju nods her head along as Chaewon speaks. “That’d be correct yes. I suppose word does get around faster than I’d anticipated,”

“I wasn’t telling you the full truth earlier on. When I siad why I’d come here,” Chaewon isn’t fully lying, but what follows could be taken as the truth too, depending on how you look at it.

“Oh?” Minju asks, seeming more interested this time, taking her drink back into her grasp and sitting back up straight.

Chaewon takes in a slow breath, and says it before she can stop herself. “I want in,”

  
  
  
  
  
  


Minju holds up the spike in front of the man’s face after she crouches down so that she’s just above eye level with him. It’s so close to his face that he almost grows cross-eyed, and in the dimness, Minju can just about see the way his thick neck contracts in a revolting manner as he swallows thickly. 

The autoshop is plunged in darkness, perhaps an hour or two after midnight, the only source of light coming from an oil lamp in the corner that had been lit so that they could see what they were doing. 

Minju peers down at the man in disgust, but keeps her facial expression as controlled as possible. He’s bound to a chair in the middle of the barren shop, arms and legs restrained earlier on whilst he was passed out cold. 

Yena had taken his gloves off of him, placed them onto the counter top. The gloves with spikes identical to the one Minju’s got in between her fingertips, some of them missing. 

“Bet you thought you were real hot shit huh,” she doesn’t phrase it like a question, and she can’t help the sneer that filters into her words when she speaks. 

The man looks at her with wide eyes, fearful. He’s got a petulant face, puffed and pinched like pastry, a sweat having broken out on his forehead and making it slick with a thin sheen. He doesn’t say anything in response. 

“Yah,” Yena drawls from where she’s positioned behind him. The gun held between her fingers loosely is pushed against the man’s temple, and she gives the nozzle an undefined shove into the side of his head to punctuate her words. “Answer when she speaks to you,” a small smirk decorates her lips, a little drunken, whether it be from the actual drink, or adrenaline, Minju can never guess. Yena always takes a bit of delight in situations like these. Minju just views it as another task to be dealt with. 

The man splutters, a spray of spittle coming from past his lips. “N-no…” he trails off, not sounding too sure whether or not he’d answered the question correctly. 

Minju hums, looking away from him, and back towards the spike in between her thumb and forefinger. It’s nothing too sharp, in fact it’s rather blunt.

It’s a shame, but it’ll have to do.

She looks back at him, then, and holds up the spike, making sure it’s in his line of sight. “You lodged these into my wheel before the race started,” 

The man looks away from her, down at his lap. He’s begun to shake rather violently, but Minju keeps a cool, level head. 

“Do you know what would’ve happened had I not noticed them?”

The man answers all too quickly, and it occurs to Minju that she doesn’t even know his name. Decides she doesn’t really care. 

“Yuh-yeah,”

Minju hums again. “Could’ve spun out. They could’ve stopped working, I could’ve been hit. I could’ve died,” she tilts her head to the side, brings her gaze into the man’s, even if he’s refusing to return at it. It’s fucking pathetic. “Look at me, you fucking bitch,” 

The man’s neck snaps up, Yena’s gun following the movement almost precisely. 

“You tried to kill me,” 

The man splutters again, shaking his head insistently. “N-no!” He exclaims, words slurred and loud. “No, I swear, I puh-promise I-”

Yena cuts him off with another reminding nudge of the nozzle into his temple, promptly causing him to shut up.

Minju scoffs. She’s so fucking done with this already.

“Do you know who I am?” She asks. 

The man is shuddering so violently now the sound of the chair against the ground is echoing throughout the shop. 

“You’re- you’re Kim Minju,” He stumbles over his words in an attempt to get them out of his mouth. “You run the… the races. You’re in charge,” 

Minju lets out a short breath of laughter. It’s humourless. “That’s the second time I’ve gotten that today, you know. I suppose it’s a half truth,” she looks down at the spike again. “You tried to kill me with this,” she laughs again, sounding flat. Something so negligible, and so trivial, he thought would do the job in taking her down. It’s an insult, really. “It’d be rude of me not to return the favour, wouldn’t it?” 

The man shakes again, saliva gathering in her mouth that he seems incapable of swallowing beginning to appear in the corner of his thin lips. “N-no, please-”

“Oh, shut the fuck up,” Yena spits. She’s never had much patience, never been one for the build-up, and in her view, this is probably dragging on way too long. She presses the gun so hard into his temple that his ear meets his shoulder, something sadistic blazing in her eyes. “You’re gonna do what she fucking tells you, yeah?” 

Minju’s often thought numerous times about how lucky she is that Yena’s on her side. To be quite frank, she can be fucking terrifying when she wants to be. 

Minju holds the spike back up in front of his face, close enough that she can feel the irregular breath being dispelled from his nostrils on the tips of her fingers. “Open up,”

It must take him a second or two, because of how slow the cogs inside his brain are churning, but eventually, he seems to understand that Minju wants him to open his mouth. That, or he’s just fucking stupid. Minju thinks a mixture of the two. 

He stares at her, eyes peeling back in disbelief. They search her own with desperation, at the strange request. There’s not much he can do, bound to a chair and a gun pressed against his temple, so tentatively, the man opens his mouth. Surely, Minju thinks, he must have a gist of what’s coming. 

Leaning forward, she drops the spike into the man’s mouth, not desiring any sort of contact with him whatsoever. She hears the metal clanging dully against his teeth, a strange sound that reminds her a bit of the few times she went to the dentist as a child. The man doesn’t move, keeps his mouth open, the metal resting on his tongue. 

It’s dead quiet.

And maybe Minju builds up the anticipation a small bit, just because she can. The man’s gaze is brimming with so many emotions she can hardly pick them all out; terror mixed with exhaustion mixed with despair mixed with the ultimatum of giving up. 

She locks eyes with Yena, for a brief moment, and the older gives her a subtle nod. 

Minju returns her eyes to the man, making sure to get the message across nice and clear. 

“Swallow,”

The man’s neck snaps up again, so violently it must’ve been painful. He opens his mouth, looking like he’s on the verge of protesting, when a resounding  _ click  _ echoes throughout the shop. 

Yena had turned the safety off. 

She doesn’t say anything. She doesn’t need to. The man looks as though he’s on the brink of unconsciousness.

Minju repeats herself, more forcefully than last time. She’s fucking tired, and really, fed up. She’s got better fucking things to be doing than dealing with lowlifes like this one. But, this man had crossed a line, a line that _ no one  _ crosses, and she needs to get the message out to others that your actions will have consequences - severe consequences. “Swallow it,”

It’s too big, the spike, to swallow, at least successfully. There’s no way someone would be able to swallow something so bizarre, and the man knows it. But, it’s either that, or take a bullet or two to the brain, and while it’s by no means a pleasant decision to make, it’s certainly an easy one. 

He’s gone pale, all of a sudden. A sickly green colour, eyes a little dazed. He looks like he’s going to be sick, so Minju stands up and takes a few steps back, just in case. 

Yena keeps stroking the gun’s nozzle against his temple, in a careless manner, just a gentle, yet insistent manner as a reminder that all it would take is one slip of her finger. Minju doesn’t miss the way that finger drifts from where it was resting on the guard, to the trigger itself. That usual hunger has settled on her features, one that Minju has always been used to, for as long as she can remember.

The man’s mouth closes, and he really has gone sheet-white. 

He might choke. It might cut his oeosophagus, or the inside of his stomach if his peristalsis is strong enough. It might lodge itself inside, or he could cough it back up. Minju doesn’t really know. She’s sure Yena’s keen to know. She herself, she isn’t quite sure. It’s not something particularly interesting. 

He doesn’t take as long as Minju had anticipated, but perhaps she’s just too used to Yena’s presence. 

He swallows. And again, and again, until-

Fuck, Minju can fucking see it. 

It’s certainly not the most vulgar thing she’s ever witnessed, fuck, it’s tame in comparison, but that doesn’t automatically make it unsettling. She can see the vague outline of the spike, protruding through his skin, as it becomes caught, too big to fit like Minju had anticipated. The man’s eyes widen once it hits him. His throat convulses, Minju watching with mild intrigue as it ripples unnaturally, the skin becoming taught, and then relaxing, only to contract again just as fast. 

He begins to cough, coming out as this animalistic, almost gurgling noise, his hands protesting against the restraints uselessly. His entire body moves in response, lurching and wretching, producing sounds that Minju probably shouldn’t be familiar with, but it takes a lot to surprise her at this stage. 

Sprays of saliva land by her feet, and she takes another step back. 

Face turning from a shade of white, to something like a deep beetroot, the man continues coughing up a fit, the sound raw and gravelly, ripping from somewhere in the base of his throat. The noise is straight up gutteral, like scratching nails down a chalkboard, and while it doesn’t last very long, it seems to stretch on and on forever. Along with almost violent inhales through his nose, so as to not swallow it further, and the way his entire body heaves-

Minju’s eyes widen a fraction.

He succeeds. 

The spike is projected onto the floor, reaching quite the distance, skittering on the floor before coming to a halt. The man gasps for air, loudly, head hung and hair plastered to his forehead. His shoulders rise and fall heavily, his inhales and exhales echoing loudly through the quiet.

“Well shit,” Yena sounds almost impressed, standing up and brushing her hair away from her face. “I didn’t think he was gonna make it there for a second,” she claps him on the back, causing him to wince and let out a groan. “Good going, man,” her words are practically dripping with sarcasm.

Minju walks over to the spike, where it sits dejectedly on the floor in a spreading puddle of mucus and saliva. Maybe a bit of blood too, it’s too dark for her to see. She looks up at Yena, motioning her head in the direction of the gloves she’d placed on the counter top. “Pass one over?” Not a fucking chance in hell she’s touching that with her bare hands. 

Yena tosses it over to her, and Minju uses it like she would a tissue, crouching down and holding it at arm's length before standing back up again. 

The man raises his head, looking at it fearfully. 

Minju supposes she’d tried to kill him, there’d been an attempt, just like he’d done to her. But something about now only being equal doesn’t sit right with her. Never has, never will. 

She revels in the expression on the man’s face when she speaks up.

“Again,”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“It was sort of unintentionally phallic, you know,” Yena remarks offhandishly, brow furrowed as she rubs at a spot of blood on the nozzle of her gun, rubbing at it until it’s practically sparkling. “That whole thing,”

Minju scoffs. “Of course you’d fucking think that,” she places her cap atop her head before closing the door behind her, following Yena outside. “Took you about ten hours to get here from wherever the fuck you were with Yuri. You’re insatiable,”

“Mmh, thanks,” Yena blows a short puff of air over the steel surface, looking as though she’d deemed her work satisfactory. 

“You got someone to take him?”

“Yep. The Violeta,” Yena drops the gun into the inside pocket of her jacket, switching it out for a cigarette, which she bites between her teeth whilst she fishes around for a lighter. “He’ll be gone before morning, probably. It’s a weekday so they’re not as busy,”

“Good,”

“You know, now that I think about it…” Yena trails off, letting out a small hum of victory when she finds her lighter, setting the cigarette between her lips alight.. “That girl. Chaewon,”

“Yeah?”

Yena inhales, and exhales a small puff of smoke, an incredulous expression on her face. “What the fuck was that all about?”

Minju smiles dryly. She shrugs. “She’s pretty,”

It’s Yena’s turn to scoff now. “Pretty,” she echoes. “You’re letting someone in because they’re fucking pretty,”

“I’ll do my research, stop whining,” Minju sighs, screwing her eyes shut and pressing a hand to her forehead. She doesn’t know when exactly she got a headache, but now it’s very much demanding to be paid attention to. “I’m so bored at the moment, why wouldn’t I do something when a chance is stood right in front of me? She wants in, why fucking not,”

Yena shakes her head. “You’ll ruin her. She’s not like the rest of us, she wasn’t raised by… she sweeps her hand around, in the direction of the auto shop. “This,”

Minju contemplates it for a second or two, tilting her head to the side.

“Good,”


	2. Blood-Slick Soles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “A good job. Nothing less than that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you guys so so much for all your support on the first chapter wtffff????? so many people have messaged me saying that they really liked the story so far and they can't wait for more, and it's honestly so motivating for me you've no idea. i struggle a lot to write longer stories, but i really love what i've got planned for this one and i'd love if i could pull through, and your encouragement really helps so much, so, thank you again :)
> 
> before we get into this chapter, i thought it'd be a good idea just to give you guys a recap of what happened in the previous one, just because it's been a while and some of you may need a quick refresher of things you need to remember before we go straight into things. so!
> 
> we started off with hyewon and eunbi in the cafe talking about how they're going to relaunch a mission that was undertaken at the start of the year by a member of criminal investigations, except they haven't been doing shit whoops soooo they need to send someone else in which turns out to be chaewon surprise! so eunbi tells chaewon that she'd like for her to go undercover, which chaewon then tells hitomi, and hitomi's like what. so even though it's dangerous or whatever chaewon agrees because she's just edgy like that, and as she prepares she sort of falls out a bit with hitomi, v sad stuff. chaewon moves into eunbi's flat, then the day before she leaves for her mission they have a small party, ssambbang make up, everything's g.  
> so chaewon bops on down to this race, she meets yulyen, MEETS MINJU which a girl wasnt expecting but she handles it as well as she can, minju gives chaewon her hat as a way for them to talk after the race. after the race ends minju invites chaewon with them for drinks, yena's pissy but minju shuts her up, minju's a bit f l i r t y but chaewon's like look she's a powerful lady she probs does this with loads of people. so they go drinking in this weirdly fancy place sus, chaewon keeps minju drinking which minju cops onto pretty quick, which leads to chaewon just blurting it out and being like i want in.  
> so then pov switch AND time skip to minju wow, she's in this auto shop with yena and they've got the guy with the spikes missing from his gloves, they do the old torture thing, yena kills him, it's not very fun but whew ok that's basically chapter one :))
> 
> [twitter](https://mobile.twitter.com/glitzyena)  
> [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/glitzyena)

“Chaewon, hey,” Eunbi’s voice crackles through the receiver. “How’d it go, are you alright?”

“Mmh,” is Chaewon’s reply, mouth half full with a slice of pizza that she clings between her teeth as she shuts the door of the fridge with her foot. Taking the pizza out of her mouth, she munches on it as she walks in the direction of Eunbi’s bedroom. “It was… so much better than I expected,” she hears the disbelief in her own tone, still not quite able to believe what had happened. 

“Oh? In what way?”

“I met Minju, unnie,”

There’s silence, on the other end of the line, for perhaps a moment or two, and Chaewon’s just about to ask her if she’s still there before she hears Eunbi speak up again. 

“Kim Minju,” Eunbi doesn’t sound like she quite believes it either.

Chaewon plops herself down on Eunbi’s bed, taking another bite of her cold pizza and nodding, even if Eunbi can’t even see her. “Kim Minju,” she confirms. “She was at the race, taking part. Did we know that she does that?”

Eunbi scoffs down the other end of the line, aporetic, and Chaewon can imagine the look on her face. “No, I-” she cuts herself off, taking in a breath, sounding like she’s trying to calm herself down. “Just… okay, just, start from the beginning. Tell me everything,”

So Chaewon does. She sits there for what must be an hour, telling Eunbi just about everything Minju had to offer her; how she’d given her the cap with the intention of talking to her afterwards, how she’d invited Chaewon along for drinks in the peculiarly lavish bar, how she’d acted, what she’d said. 

“So I just told her straight, I didn’t see any point in beating around the bush. I said, _I want in_ ,”

“And she let you? Just like that?”

“Hm? Oh, no,” Chaewon shakes her head to herself. “Not that easy. She’s definitely not as soft as that. She wants me to meet her tomorrow night, for some like… I don’t know. Trial? Initiation? She still doesn’t know me very well, and vice versa. She didn’t specify what it was going to be but…” she smiles dryly to herself. “I suppose I’ve got to do it, don’t I? I don’t remember anything about the other girl having to do something like this, did she have to do anything in particular to be accepted?”

Eunbi takes in a slow breath before replying, contemplative. “No…” she responds slowly, and then “No,” again, more sure this time. “No, it took her a while. She got to know one of the associates, then wormed her way in through that. Through trust. I don’t imagine they have any sort of formal trialing, this must just be something that Minju’s come up with on the spot,” she pauses, though Chaewon can tell she’s still thinking, so she keeps silent, waiting for Eunbi’s thoughts to catch up to her. “If she’s willing to give you a chance to earn her trust so early on, and by the way you said she acted around you…” she lets out a short breath. “There’s got to be more to her than that. You’re a charmer, Chaewon, I’ll give you that, but…”

“No, yeah, I get you,” Chaewon agrees. “There’s definitely more to her than what I just saw on the surface tonight, like the tip of the iceberg. I’ll have to keep my guard up,”

“Hell yeah you will,” Eunbi says, a little deflated. She sounds tired. “This… trial, or whatever. It’ll most likely be a race, Chaewon. I mean what else could it be?”

Chaewon presses her lips together, pushing her hair back from her forehead. “I thought about that,” she admits. “I was hoping I was missing something and that you’d say something so obvious and I’d be like _oh, of course! Of course it’d be that and not a race_ , but,” she rubs at her face with her hands, letting out a soft exclamation. “It’s more than likely going to be a race, isn’t it? Or even if I’m not the one racing, something to do with racing,”

Eunbi hums. “Yeah. She might’ve picked up that racing isn’t exactly your thing, since you chose to spectate rather than participate tonight. She could have something else lined up for you,” she cuts herself off again with a sigh. “Or, she could have absolutely nothing planned and we’re just over complicating things. She really told you nothing?”

“Not a word,” Chaewon confirms. “Just that I’ve to meet someone who’ll pick me up at ten at the place where the race was held,” she rattles off the instructions Minju had given her in the bar, having engrained them into her mind out of fear of forgetting them. 

“Well… whatever it is… air on the side of caution, Chaewon. Keep safe,”

“I will,”

“And thank you for updating so quickly. Just remember, not too often, alright?”

“I won’t,”

“And please be careful with whatever she pulls on you tomorrow. Use your initiative, you’ll be able to move around it should she throw something too crazy at you,”

“Okay mom,” Chaewon keeps her tone lighthearted to let Eunbi know she’s not all that serious. 

“I’m a worrier, alright,” Eunbi jokes, but it comes out a little bitter, a little dry. “After what happened to the last girl…” she trails off, and the silence becomes a little thick, a little unbreathable. 

“Look, it’s getting late,” Chaewon shatters the quiet before it can prolong any further. “I should probably rest up to prepare for… whatever,”

“Yes,” Eunbi answers hurriedly. “Yes, you’re right, you should rest up. There’s nothing else worth reporting though, just before you go?”

Chaewon purses her lips, thinking. “No, not that I can think of,” 

“Well then, get a good sleep before tomorrow. I’ll see you….” her sentence fades out, before she laughs softly. “Well, not soon. But I’ll talk to you whenever,”

Chaewon tries her best to contain a yawn. “You too,” she replies. “Don’t work too hard,”

Eunbi scoffs. “Tell that to the super,” Chaewon can practically hear her rolling her eyes. “Look, don’t worry about me, you just focus on the task at hand,”

“Mmh. Alright,”

“Goodnight, Chaewon-ah,”

“Goodnight, unnie,”

  
  
  
  
  
  


It’s Yuri who’s the one that picks Chaewon up.

She’s waiting for a while actually, Chaewon, in the cold and in the dark, bang on ten o’clock like Minju had asked of her. She rubs her palms together, cursing herself for not bringing gloves, her breath puffing past her lips as frosty, wispy clouds of condensation. It’s just about reached ten past, and she’s starting to wonder if anyone’s going to come at all, before she hears the soft sound of an engine revving in the distance. 

It takes her a moment, but she manages to identify Yuri in the driver’s seat once she pulls up by the curb next to her. The car is unlike the ones at the race the previous night, beat up and dented. This one is sleek, gleaming like it was just bought brand new, a deep purple in colour with all the window’s dimmed bar for the driver’s. However, Yuri rolls it down regardless, and flashes her a grin.

“Sorry for the delay,” she says it like they’re old friends, and they’re on their way to grab a pizza rather than to… well, whatever Minju has set up. “Shit came up. You gonna get in or just stand there?”

Smiling sheepishly, Chaewon complies, rounding the front of the car to clamber in the passenger side. The interior of the car is just as lavish and as showy as its exterior; smooth leather seats with that new-car smell, the control panel lit up red in order to be visible in the dark. There aren’t any backseats, and the roof is low, so Chaewon has to duck a considerable amount in order to be able to get inside, and she isn’t even that tall. It’s comfortable, she can’t deny, finding herself practically melting into the seat.

She doesn’t think she’s ever been in a car like this one before, shit, she doesn’t think she’s ever even _seen_ a car like this one before. She thinks back to the watch she’d seen on Yuri’s wrist last night, flicks her eyes downwards - yeah, it’s still there - and how it’s simply impossible for anyone from the outskirts to afford something even close to it. This car practically screams expensive, shoves it in your face and rubs it in. 

Carefully, Chaewon drinks in Yuri’s appearance. There hadn’t been much to look at last night in terms of clothing, with how wrapped up she’d been, but now, it’s a different story. She’s wearing a blazer, cut practically perfectly, the sleeves rolled up neatly to her elbows. Underneath, she’s wearing a shirt, plain and white and nothing too drastic. Chaewon can’t quite catch sight of her shoes from where she’s sat next to her, but she can see the tightly styled slacks underneath a faux-fur coat thrown haphazardly on her lap. Thin, gold-framed glasses outline her eyes, glinting softly in the streetlamp light, the lenses reflecting the greens and reds and ambers of the traffic lights. Her hair, while not styled, certainly can’t be described as disheveled, the dark locks falling across her shoulders in smooth, glossy tresses-

Chaewon frowns, narrowing her eyes. Around Yuri’s neck, and in total contrast to the rest of her dark attire, is a thin, satin band, pale lilac in colour and sitting delicately on the pale skin of her throat. In all, the outfit is totally unlike what she’d worn to the race last night, which only causes Chaewon to become ten times uneasier in regards to where they might be going. Where in The Outskirts does someone go dressed like that? Where _can_ you go?

Yuri tilts her head at her, curious looking. “Everything alright?” 

Chaewon gives her head a gentle shake, cursing herself internally. “No yeah I…” she trails off, racking her brains. “I just uh, I didn’t realise I had to be so dressed up,” she gestures to Yuri’s clothing lamely. It works as an excuse, although Chaewon doesn’t think she’s done so bad. She’s wearing jeans herself, dark and paired with a jacket, so she thinks she could just about pass off for whatever dress code requires Yuri to look like this. Upon further inspection, Chaewon notices that her makeup’s been done too, her lips stained a few shades darker and something glittery smudged around her eyes. 

“Hm?” Yuri raises an eyebrow, before she seems to understand what she’s talking about. “Oh, no, you don’t need to worry about that, you’re fine,” she waves a hand at her dismissively, although it does nothing to quell her nerves. “If Minju told you nothing of it, then you’re good,” she starts up the car, the engine purring in a velvety manner, smooth and controlled, completely opposite to the dodgy, rickety squad cars she nearly finds herself getting sick in once she’s in them for too long. 

Pressing her lips together, Chaewon doesn’t see much harm in taking a chance. “But can you?”

Yuri begins to drive, definitely just that slightest bit faster than necessary, and gives her another questioning look, picking up on Chaewon’s tone almost instantly. “And what do you mean by that?”

Chaewon gives her a thin smile, the action alone helping her to quell her nerves, even if it’s by a miniscule amount. “Can you tell me something of it? Of where we’re going?”

Yuri looks at her for a few moments longer, before a smile stretches on her lips that matches Chaewon’s, turning back to the road and clicking her tongue. “Nice try,” she drawls, pushing her glasses up higher on her nose, and well, it had been worth a try. “If Minju didn’t tell you, then like hell I’m supposed to. Where’s your sense of fun, hm? Don’t you like surprises?”

Chaewon shrugs. “Not particularly,”

“Well, enduring things that you don’t _particularly_ enjoy is all part of the business,” her tone is mocking, and Chaewon picks up on it within an instant. 

She raises her chin. “I’m sure I’ll manage,”

Yuri doesn’t respond for a moment or two, and when Chaewon casts her eyes over to her, she sees that that same amused grin is still smeared on her lips. 

“Of course you will,”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


They leave the ring of The Outskirts.

It’s only when the buildings begin to look slightly less dilapidated and actually, well, habitable, that Chaewon begins to comprehend just how long they’ve been driving for. Yuri is skilled, she’ll give her that. She knows how to talk, knows how to keep conversation flowing without it ever getting too awkward, but also, without it ever getting too personal, never revealing too much about herself, or forcing Chaewon to do the same. It’s a skill Chaewon wishes she had, always something she envied people like Eunbi for having. But, it also keeps Chaewon distracted from the much larger picture.

Chaewon has never left The Outskirts before, doesn’t know anyone who has. Why would she? It’s not like she could afford anything there, not like she has the means of getting there. And, even if she did, she’d stick out like a sore thumb. She’s never experienced it first hand, but you always hear stories spoken with bitter tongues about how people from the outer ring are looked down upon, how’re they’re cussed at and ridiculed. As if the people from the middle rings aren’t mocked by those in The Centre. Chaewon shudders at the thought.

Yuri keeps talking to her about nothing in particular, mostly anecdotes from the races they’ve held over the years, ever giving anything away, and deftly dodging any question that Chaewon might throw at her with practised ease before Chaewon gives up altogether. 

While not anything could be described as, well, _fancy_ per say, everything in Chaewon’s line of sight is very much something she’s unused to. The streets smell relatively clean, something she wouldn’t have thought the opposite for with the outer ring, but it’s only when she steps out of the car and inhales that she realises just how pungent the air is near where she lives. 

Looking around, she gently closes Yuri’s car door behind her. They’ve pulled up infront of a large, square stone building, Chaewon having to crane her neck back just to view the top of it. The front of the building looks how the entrance to an old-style hotel would, the kinds Chaewon’s seen in movies; rimmed with brightly glowing yellow lights, the walkway inside and the pathway extending out onto the path. A large canopy of deep purple is hung overhead from the windows, suspended in mid-air and clinging to the ground by a thick wire, casting shadows even in the night that make the lights shine brighter. Potted plants with a suspiciously plasticy-sheen are strung with golden lights of the same hue, and above the almost obnoxiously large revolving door, is a saturated, purple neon sign. 

Chaewon squints at it, eyes narrowed. It’s written in English, in curly, loopy writing, and her skills have always been a little rusty, but she just about manges to read what it says.

_The Violeta._

It doesn’t sound like an English word, and the fact doesn’t do much at all to quell her nerves. She takes back what she said earlier - while not many buildings in this ring could be described as straight up fancy, she’s very willing to make this building an exception. Shit, this is the kind of thing she’d expect to see in The Centre, not the ring one-in from her own. 

If this is the kinda thing people merely a ring in from them experience, just how bad have the people in The Outskirts got it?

Yuri rounds the front of the car to come stand next to her, looking at Chaewon, then to the building, a glimmer in her eyes. “Guessing you’ve never been?”

Chaewon laughs humorlessly, short. “Hardly ever been out of my own sector of the outer ring,”

It seems as though it was the answer Yuri had been expecting. She begins to walk in the direction of the entrance, and it’s only then that Chaewon takes notice of the bouncers positioned by the entrance, along with a scrawny, young-looking man that she can only describe as looking like a bellboy of sorts. His eyes dart over in Yuri’s direction, before snapping away, only to continuously repeat the same motion again. “Well then, on behalf of a bunch of people that you haven’t met yet,” Yuri turns around to look at her, playful smile on her lips, pointing upwards at the neon sign hung above the entrance. “Welcome to the Violeta, the very biasedly acclaimed best casino in the second ring,” she tilts her head in the direction of the door. “Just stick with me and you’ll be fine, hm?”

Her words do absolutely nothing to bring Chaewon any sort of comfort, but it’s not really like she’s got much of a choice. She gets about two steps closer to the entrance before Yuri is halting in her tracks, letting out a soft sigh. “Wait, hold on…” she mumbles, patting herself down before producing a set of car keys from the pocket of her blazer. She steps away from the entrance, peering around the side of one of the bouncers, where the young boy is stood, hands clasped in front of him, jittery looking. 

Yuri lets out a soft breath of laughter. “Yah,”

The boy’s neck snaps to look at her, much too quickly, which only seems to bring Yuri even more amusement. 

“Go park it down beneath,” she tosses him the keys, which he only just about manages to catch, fumbling with them and mumbling a string of curses under his breath that Chaewon doesn’t quite catch. “Scratch it and it’s Choi Yena you’ll have to worry about, not me,”

The boy blanches at that, Chaewon pretty sure she can see his soul leaving his body as he nods profusely, before scurrying off in the direction of the car.

“Right, okay,” Yuri says with finality, and, to Chaewon’s surprise, takes a hold of her arm. “Again, just stick with me and try not to wander off,” With that, she takes Chaewon through the revolving door, and into the casino.

There’s so many thoughts flying around Chaewon’s head, so many questions and queries that she knows she can’t just ask Yuri, flat out, so she does her best to keep a level head. So far from what she’s seen, and from the way Yuri’s dressed, racing isn’t on the table tonight, which really works in Chaewon’s favour. What doesn’t work in her favour is the fact that she’s quite literally out of her comfort zone, and has no idea what to anticipate. Taking in a breath, she tells herself to think rationally. More than likely, this casino is used as something like a meeting point, for a place for people to gather. 

This information though, is huge. If this is a meeting point, or, even if it’s not, is outside The Outskirts. This means Minju’s group has expanded beyond what they had initially thought, means they could be _bigger_ than what they initially thought. Means that Chaewon’s tackling a much larger problem than what she’d been led to believe.

Maybe this is why the other girl has been forced into silence, because she’s trying to grapple with an issue much greater than they ever could’ve imagined.

Chaewon can feel it. Can feel it along with Yuri’s hold on her arm, as they step inside.

She’s in danger. 

Trying to force her growing fear to the back of her mind, Chaewon gives her head a jolt to the side, trying to bring herself back to reality. She’s never been inside a casino before, it wasn’t exactly something that she ever wanted to become dependent on. There’s casinos in The Outskirts, she supposes, though she supposes a better term suited for them would be gambling houses. They’re certainly not lavishly decorated in tantalisingly bright lights, and a scent of lotus overcoming your senses once you step inside. They certainly don’t have any of these machines, with flashing lights and blaring screens. It’s moreso rickety wooden tables, from what Hyewon’s told her, from the couple times she’s busted those that are unlicensed, rickety tables and a stench of cheap beer and worn playing cards. Chaewon’s helped with such cases a few times, from the station instead of there in person, and it’s always a nasty business, dealing with addiction. People can become too obsessive, too overcome by the delusions that they fantasise inside their heads.

The interior of The Violeta is true to its namesake. Purple is very clearly the dominant colour of choice, with the same shade of strip lighting lining the walls, casing those violet hues on the walls and seeping into people’s skin. The carpet is purple, plush and soft beneath Chaewon’s feet, translucent drapes of lilac sheets hang from the ceiling, tangling with the chandeliers, plunging the place into an almost dreamlike state. There’s quite the amount of people, around the amount Chaewon would expect. 

The people in The Outskirts don’t gamble for the fun of it. Most of them do it out of sheer need, desperation, for survival. It isn’t a choice. Here, for most of these people, it seems to be something done out of leisure. They’re not dressed as well as Yuri, Chaewon will say, but no one is by any means dressed down. There’s different tables dotted around the room, for card games and such by what Chaewon can see, along with teeming rows of slot machines and other weirdly wonderful delights that she doesn’t recognise. Waiters and waitresses with polished black shoes skim across the floor, silver platters with thin flutes of champagne carefully placed on top, which people pluck off with ease as they pass by.

“Ah,” Chaewon looks over at Yuri, who has her eyes trained on an area near the middle of the room, adjusting her glasses. “There they are,”

Chaewon, while overwhelmed, follows Yuri’s line of sight. Amidst the bustling crowds of people, she catches sight of a table in the centre of the floor. Amongst the groups in the room, the largest has gathered around this table in particular, Chaewon just about able to see through the gaps what the cause of all this attention is. 

Sat at one end of the table is a man, his back to Chaewon, but she can just about see the fan of cards he holds up in front of his face. From what she can tell, he’s stout looking, stubbles of hair on his head less so rather than more. People of a similar profile are standing by him, pointing at the cards in his grasp and talking amongst themselves, most likely in lowered voices. 

On the other side of the table, well. Chaewon gets now why Yuri is staring. 

On the tables opposite side is a chair, a girl that Chaewon doesn’t recognise sitting in it comfortably, and an almost unrecognisable Choi Yena perched on the armrest.

It takes Chaewon a moment or two to realise that it’s Yena, on the armrest, but she doesn’t blame herself in the slightest. Because of last night, Chaewon’s had a particular image of Yena in her head; cap low on her face, leather jacket, messy hair. Now, she practically looks like a different person; her hair is tied in a low ponytail at the base of her neck, longer than Chaewon had anticipated it, glossy, draped over the bared skin of her shoulder delicately. A blazer that she was probably once wearing is thrown over the back of the chair, leaving her in a halter top so jewel-studded it’s practically blinding. Like Yuri, her makeup’s been done in a similarly sultry manner, dark brown rimming her eyes, glimmering softly in the lilac light, and something lustrous clinging to her stained lips. 

Also, like Yuri, a thin band of satin rests against the base of her throat, which Chaewon registers goes coincidentally well with the interior of the place. Her gaze shifts, and- yes, the girl sat in the chair is wearing one too. 

The girl has an aura about her - perhaps something a little similar to Minju? - her face set in a dead straight line that briefly reminds Chaewon of Hyewon. Her eyes are narrowed, in a concentrated manner, but also appearing the image of unbothered. She too, has a fan of cards in her grasp, but they’re held carelessly, loosely, between her middle and forefinger. Like both Yuri and Yena, she’s dressed in black, a blazer and slacks, with that same lilac band around her neck. 

While Yena is intimidating in a physical sense, her presence alone enough to make you break out a sweat, Chaewon would categorise this girl as something more psychological. They haven’t even engaged yet, but Chaewon already gets the sense that she would have no problem getting inside someone’s head. 

She watches as Yena leans down from where she’s sitting quite comfortably on the armrest, a few strands of her hair wound around a finger. Lightly, she moves the other girl’s hair back from her shoulder, eyes something intentional as her fingers brush against the skin of her neck.

Chaewon’s eyes dart over to Yuri. She doesn’t look like anything that’s happening is out of the ordinary, so she shifts her gaze back just as quickly. 

Yena has her lips pressed to the girl’s ear, one of her arms snaking around her shoulders. The girl’s eyes are raised to the roof, looking as though she’s thinking, before nodding along with whatever it was Yena had whispered to her. 

“You look surprised,” 

Chaewon looks back to Yuri again, admittedly confused. She’d been so sure that her and Yena were, well, _something,_ though perhaps they’re a different something than the one she’d originally thought. 

“A little,” she admits. “You and Yena, I just assumed you were-”

“Oh no, we are,” if anything, Yuri looks smug. “Yena is touchy with just about anything that breathes,” she gestures in their direction, where Yena’s gently drumming her fingertips against the girl’s collarbones, which to the girl, seems like a totally normal action.

“Especially if that anything is Lee Chaeyeon,” 

Chaewon raises a brow. “I’m assuming she’s..?” she trails off, implying she’s talking about the girl in the chair.

“That’s her,” Yuri confirms. “Her and Yena are… how do I put it,” she thinks for a moment, eyes raised to the ceiling. “Yena and I are together, yes?” she begins to walk, and Chaewon falls into step with her. She hums as a response, and Yuri continues on. “But even if Yena didn’t have me, and Chaeyeon didn’t have Sakura… they still wouldn’t be together, as in, in a relationship. They couldn’t love each other, not romantically. It would be more like a sense of ownership,”

Chaewon doesn’t really get what Yuri gains from telling her this, perhaps a sense of pride that Yena has some sort of romantic connection with her, and not others despite how close they seem, but she finds herself intrigued regardless. And, any information is good information. “Ownership, as in, one over the other?”

Yuri considers the question, pursing her lips in thought. “Hm. No, I don’t think so. They don’t really have a power dynamic, they’re quite equal. Ownership over one another. I can’t imagine it would end very well, given their personalities, but they’d be drawn to one another regardless,” she smiles, and again, it’s smug. This must’ve been something she’s thought about, something she’s mulled over and found pride in. “But that’s all hypothetical,” she says with a sigh of finality. “What about you, hm?”

The question takes Chaewon by surprise, eyes widening involuntarily. Everything they’ve talked about up until this point has been completely impersonal, but this all of a sudden… no, she can handle this.

Pursing her lips, Chaewon raises a brow. “I thought you said yesterday that you weren’t going to flirt with me?”

Yuri lets out a laugh at that, a clear sound, and it sounds genuine. “I really like you actually, you know that?” just from the way she says it, Chaewon can tell it’s not in _that_ sense. “I said it yesterday, you’re witty. But I stand by what I said, not flirting, just curious,” 

“In that case, no,” Chaewon shakes her head, and they’ve just about arrived at where the large group have gathered. “No one’s on the table,”

“Huh,” Yuri’s lips quirk, playful looking.“Good to know,” Chaewon doesn’t quite know what it means, but she follows along anyway. 

Yuri rounds the table and squeezes through the light throngs of people, encouraging Chaewon to do the same. She mutters apologies at people under her breath as she allows Yuri to drag her along until, all of a sudden, they’re right there next to the chair that Chaeyeon and Yena are sat in.

They’re so focused on the task at hand, and the game that Chaeyeon is in the midst of that they don’t notice them at first, so Yuri lets go of Chaewon’s arm in favour of tapping Yena on the shoulder.

Yena twists around sharply, eyes narrowed almost like it’s a natural instinct, but her gaze softens the moment she realises that it’s Yuri. “Hey,” her voice is a little muffled amidst the general drone of noise, but Chaewon can still hear the tenderness in it. Yuri offers a light hum as a reply, allowing Yena to wind an arm around her waist and draw her into her side, resting her chin on her shoulder. 

“How’s it going?” Yuri asks airily, eyes completely unfocused on the game, moreso focused on trailing a finger along a streak of blonde hair in Yena’s ponytail. 

“It’s… going,” Yena responds vaguely, more than likely on purpose, her eyes falling back to the cards held in Chaeyeon’s hand, who hasn’t acknowledged their arrival. 

Chaewon herself doesn’t know shit about card games, never played, never really got the appeal, so she doesn’t really know what’s going on. Chaeyeon’s face is completely, well, poker straight, completely void of any sort of emotion, so it’s impossible for Chaewon to gauge what she might be thinking. At the station, she’s seen many of an attempt at poker faces, people lying through their teeth like their expressions don’t tell her everything she needs to know. She’s never seen someone execute it so perfectly before, it’s… chilling. Unnerving. The more she finds herself staring at her, the more she’s starting to feel her blood run cold, so she tears her gaze away.

On the opposite end of the table, the man seems to be a different story. While he appears as though he’s trying his best to maintain his composure, beads of sweat run slow tracks down the sides of his face, his forehead shiny in the pale lilac light. While his lips are in a straight line, his jaw is tensed, hard, teeth visibly clenched even from this distance. His cards are a little bent, Chaewon’s only now just noticing, with how hard he’s gripping them, and his hands-

Chaewon narrows her eyes, and then, a lump forms in her throat.

Oh.

How strange.

The tips of each of the man’s fingers are wound in white bandages, so tightly so they squeeze the plump flesh beneath their grip.

Chaewon doesn’t think she’d like to imagine why he has those bandages. Pushes it to the back of her mind, reminds herself what she’s dealing with. 

These girls are a part of what is predominantly a racing group, some of which seem to enjoy indulging in vices like gambling, which is nothing out of the ordinary. Those bandages have nothing to do with racing. It’s highly likely they’re unrelated. But, at the same, time, Chaewon can’t afford to let her guard down.

“Is she here? Oh, hi,” Yena offers Chaewon a lazy raise of her hand as a greeting, but she’s honed her attention back in on the game before Chaewon can respond. It seems to be quite an intense afair, what’s happening at the moment, and while the atmosphere of the casino as a whole is lively and bright, everyone standing around the table is speaking in low murmurs. 

She doesn’t pay much attention to the game, Chaewon, not having a clue how to follow, but she keeps a watchful eye on those playing. It doesn’t take long for her to pick up on how the game is going - it becomes clear to her that Chaeyeon, despite her lack of expression, seems to be the one who has the upper hand, maintaining her composure and her calm without much effort. The more the game drags on, the more uncomfortable and distressed the man seems to become, wiping at his forehead with the back of his hand and tugging on the collar of his shirt uncomfortably.

“Do you know how to play? Poker,” Chaewon gives a start when Yuri leans over to her, speaking close into her ear.

“Hm? Oh, no,”

Yuri hums, moving away a fraction. “Me neither. I don’t think I’d be smart enough for it, so if I don’t try, then I never failed at in the first place,” her eyes drift away from Chaewon, and to the table, stacked high with an array of differently coloured chips. Too many for Chaewon to count. “Yena and Chaeyeon though… they’re good. Maybe a bit too good,” 

She doesn’t elaborate, and Chaewon doesn’t pry. 

It’s a flurry of stacked chips being shoved back and forth, climbing higher and higher, of cards being flipped and glanced at and discarded, and it happens so fast, yet simultaneously, it drags on for the longest time. Chaewon thinks that it’s the purple lights that must be getting to her, making it difficult for her to differentiate one thought from another, only just about able to refuse the waitress that approaches them when she reminds herself that she’s technically working. Yena and Yuri both take a flute each with ease, while Chaeyeon refuses, attention still completely and utterly devoted to what’s going on in front of her. 

Yena comes across as more relaxed, sipping on her drink idly and swirling it gently in her grasp, the pale gold liquid inside bubbling and frothing, stained with lavender. She’ll murmur something to Chaeyeon every once in a while, point to a card in her fan of five, something like a smirk playing on her lips all the while, the kind you have where you know something that someone else doesn’t, something that gives you the upper hand. And, Chaewon supposes that that’s more than likely the case.

Again, it seems so natural. No matter how close Yena gets to Chaeyeon, Chaeyeon nods her head along like it’s the most natural thing in the world, and Yuri will hardly be fazed by it, Yena returning to her each and every time. It’s a strange dynamic, but not one that Chaewon is going to allow herself to be distracted by. 

At one point, Chaewon sees Chaeyeon slip. Although, she wouldn’t really call it a slip per say, because it looks as though it were entirely intentional. Chaewon watches, as her lips curl to match Yena’s expression, eyebrows raised just slightly, and her muscles untense as she leans back in her seat. Chaewon just about catches the low hum that Yena emits, and catches Yuri shuddering slightly at the sound. Even though she’s no idea what’s just happened, she finds herself holding her breath. 

Chaeyeon looks away from the game for the first time since Chaewon has seen her, and looks up at Yena. From where she’s stood, Chaewon can’t see what Yena does, but whatever it is, it makes Chaeyeon smile wider, giving her head a tilt to the side before brushing her hair away from her face. 

Next to Chaewon, Yuri sighs. “Fucking flirt,” she mutters under her breath.

Before Chaewon can dwell on it, on the other end of the table, the man speaks up, voice wavering on his word. He lays his cards out on the table for everyone to see. “Straight,”

At that, a wave of murmurs erupts throughout the small group, and while Chaewon doesn’t know what it means, she does her best to keep a smile to herself because, well. It does seem quite ironic.

To her surprise, Chaeyeon and Yena have gone quiet. They stare at the cards in stunned silence, smiles having slipped from their faces. The cards in Chaeyeon’s hands go lax, lips parted slightly. The man, across the room, doesn’t stop himself from looking hopeful. 

Everyone is watching them, attention completely undivided.

Breaking the quiet, and whatever facade she had put on, Chaeyeon scoffs. Yena gets a little more comfortable on the arm rest, drawing Yuri closer to her. 

“Right, I’m done here,” Chaeyeon announces with a sigh, her sudden flippant attitude taking Chaewon by surprise. “I thought it would be a bit more fun than that, you talked big game,” she stands up, and turns to Yena. “I suppose I should’ve listened to you,” 

Yena looks ridiculously smug, moving a few stray strands of hair away from her eyes. “Mmh, probably should’ve,” her gaze flits over to the man in the chair, her look so intense that even Chaewon feels pinned to the spot, and Yena isn’t even looking at her. “But it was fun to watch, even if it was just the same thing happening again,”

Chaewon sees him swallow thickly. 

Casually, Chaeyeon drops her cards onto the table, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her slacks and rolling out her neck. “Full house,” she says, people all around craning their necks to see what her hand was. Chaewon doesn’t know what that means, but it sounds impressive. Sounds like she’d won. 

The man’s eyes are scanning the chips in the pot wildly, darting to and fro, and the more he’s looking, the more fretful he’s becoming. 

Chaeyeon doesn’t even bat an eyelid. “Can’t count?” she says it monotonously, but the mockery is strongly implied. “Nice round figure, actually. One hundred and twenty mill-”

“No,”

The words die on Chaeyeon’s tongue when the man cuts across her. She purses her lips, demeanour coming across as a mixture of both entertained and annoyed.

Yena, again, is the same as her. Slowly, she stands up, and lets out a soft breath of laughter, void of humour. “Excuse me?” her tone has dropped to something lower. 

“N-no,” the man repeats again, shaking his head insistently, staring at the spatter of cards on the table in disbelief. “No, there’s no way- not the both of you, you- one of you must have cheated!”

Another flurry of mutters and hushed whispers sweep the crowd, uneasy eyes shifting between both ends of the table. 

Chaeyeon tilts her head to the side, dark hair falling over her shoulder. “Cheated?” she echoes.

Yena frowns, putting up an air of faux confusion. “But surely…” she draws her lips together, nodding her head slowly, like the thoughts inside her head are slowly coming together. “Surely if you were so sure, you would’ve mentioned it during one of the games?” she looks at Chaeyeon for support, and Chaeyeon hums in agreement. She looks back to the man, leaning on the table and taking another laguid sip of her drink. “If you were so certain that we cheated, how come you didn’t call us out on it when it happened?” her tone is lethargic, like she’s got all the time in the world, but her gaze is sharp, threatening.

The man is making groundless accusations, that much if obvious to just about anyone, and neither Chaeyeon nor Yena seem as though they’re going to let him down easy. 

“Besides,” Chaeyeon really does sound quite bored, Chaewon thinks, and she’s finding it difficult to tell whether it’s sincere or whether it’s an act she’s putting on. She might not know much about card games, but she can tell that she must be a damn good bluff. 

“It’s a bit late now, to be making accusations like that. In fact…” Chaeyeon trails off, peering out beyond the crowd, and when Chaewon follows her line of sight, she sees a woman sitting behind a desk on the far side of the room, who delivers Chaeyeon a questioning look, before giving her a sharp nod. Chaeyon’s lips twist into something that Chaewon struggles to put her finger on - maybe satisfaction. “The funds are being transferred as we speak,”

“If there’s enough,” Yena mutters around the rim of her glass, before snickering softly to herself. 

“No, you don’t fucking get it!” the man exclaims, batting at a stack of chips with the back of his hand, a series of gasps rippling throughout the onlookers as they clatter across the table and rain down on the carpet. While everyone seems shocked, Yena, Yuri, and Chaeyeon survey the situation with unimpressed expressions. “I came here for a fair fucking game, I’ve got a fucking, a- a- wife, and a- god, _fuck_!” he slams his fist down on the table, the crowd inching away from him, as he lets out another string of curses and insults, words melding together into almost indecipherable slurs. 

Chaewon watches, completely overwhelmed, as Chaeyeon peers out over the top of the crowd again, but this time, in the direction of the security guards based nearby the entrance. She tilts her head in the direction of the man, but Yena’s placing a hand on her arm, stopping her. They both glance at one another, for a fraction of a second, but it’s like they have an entire conversation with just one look. Chaewon has no clue what it was, but some sort of communication was definitely had. 

Yena turns back to look at the man, lips curled in disgust. “Yah,” she doesn’t say it forcefully, or loudly, but it still demands attention. Much like Hyewon, Chaewon thinks. Everyone turns to look at her, curious, but her eyes are fixed on the man and the man alone. Her gaze bores into him, and she points to his chair. 

“Sit the fuck down,” her voice is dangerously soft.

The man stares at her, eyes peeled wide, but slowly does as she had asked of him. Yena hums, drawn out. “I’m not an unreasonable person, you know,” she moves to sit back in the chair, legs crossed, and Chaeyeon sits on the armrest this time. “I’d be more than happy to negotiate,” she rests her chin in her palm, and smiles at him, sickly sweet. 

It’s then that Chaewon feels a prod to her shoulder, and she turns around sharply to see Yuri. The girl gestures to something behind Chaewon, so Chaewon turns again. 

Above the main floor of the casino, is a balcony, lined with glass panels and a gleaming silver railing. From here, Chaewon can’t see what’s up there, but what she can see is in the distance, a small figure dressed in black, elbows leaning on the railing and peering down at them.

Chaewon’s seen enough shakily-shot photographs, seen plenty of blurred pictures to know at this stage that it’s Minju. 

Although she can’t make out her facial expression from this distance, and in the low light, Chaewon sees her tilt her head, an easily recognised symbol for _come here._

Yuri confirms it with a soft push to her back, urging Chaewon forward. _“Good luck,”_ she utters into Chaewon’s ear, and despite it being totally insincere, Chaewon appreciates it, because fuck, she’s going to need it.

Casting once last look at the table, and briefly wondering what Yena and Chaeyeon are going to make of the man, Chaewon turns on her heel and pushes through the crowd, once more muttering apologies under her breath before she makes it out the other side. She looks up to the balcony, and sees that Minju is still there. Perhaps it’s just her imagination, and the lights getting to her head again, but Chaewon thinks she sees Minju’s lips shift into something like a smile. Nothing kind, but amused, but before Chaewon can linger on it, Minju’s turned her back on her, and disappeared into the blurs of deep violet. 

Smoothing out her hair, Chaewon takes in a slow breath, telling herself to calm down. It’s natural for her to be confused, to be overwhelmed, Minju brought her here on the basis that Chaewon thought they were nothing more than a petty street racing group, when clearly there’s more to it than that. 

Detective or not, because either way she’s still in the dark, she needs answers. And this is her one and only chance to get them. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“You met Chaeyeon?” Minju asks, drink held so limp in her grasp Chaewon’s weary it’s going to slip from her hold and fall of the edge of the balcony and onto some poor victim down beneath them. 

But, she doesn’t comment on it, and focuses on answering the question instead. “Met would be the wrong word, we haven’t spoken yet,” she explains, and Minju nods her head along with what she’s saying. “But I watched her play, she’s…” she trails off when a word doesn’t immediately fall on her tongue, not wanting to say the wrong thing. They’ve been up here a while, Yena, Chaeyeon and Yuri having left the main floor with the man a while ago, to someplace beneath the balcony that Chaewon can’t see. She’s had to watch her wording the entire time, not wanting to say something that could evoke any sort of negative emotion out of Minju, but, like Eunbi had said, trying not to be a kiss ass either. 

Minju lets out a laugh, light and airy. “She’s a lot of things,” she finishes Chaewon’s sentence for her. “You can’t really just put a single word to her,” she lets out another breath of laughter, taking a sip from her drink. A stout glass, whiskey on the rocks, the ice clinking pleasantly against the glass. She swallows before she speaks. “She’s a bit scary, Chaeyeon. Yena too,” 

While Chaewon agrees wholeheartedly, she tilts her head. “And Yuri isn’t?”

Again, Minju laughs. Chaewon’s not too sure whether it’s because of her, or at her. “Yuri is…” she seems to consider the question. “Yuri’s lovely, most of the time. You’re nice to her, she’s nice to you. But one wrong move…” Minju lets out a low whistle. “You never know when to expect it. You think that she’s lovely, which might just make her scarier than those two combined,”

Chaewon nods slowly. She sort of sees that. She’d said it yesterday, she could meet Yuri in the queue at the corner store and she’d think nothing of her. With Chaeyeon, she’s got this sort of aura, Chaewon had sensed it the moment she’d laid eyes on her, a sort of _don’t come close_ kind of a feeling. With Yena, everything’s in your face, there’s no allusions or beating around the bush, everything is brash and quite literally lain out on the table for everyone to see. And as for Minju-

“What about you?” Chaewon asks, resting an arm on the railing.

Minju’s gaze pulls away from the floor, and looks at Chaewon. In the light, her black hair appears purple, her skin soaking in the rich tones. She’s dressed similar to Yuri, slacks and a blazer with the sleeves rolled up, beneath it a black polo. Chaewon can’t tell if she’s wearing one of those purple satin bands or not like the others because of it. “Hm?”

Chaewon urges herself to push through before she can back down. “Do you think you’re scary?”

Minju doesn’t react, doesn’t make any sort of movement at all, for a couple of moments, dark eyes just staring into Chaewon’s own. 

Then, her gaze flicks down, and flicks back up again just as fast, and she’s blinking at her owlishly. She rests her chin on her fist, a languid movement. “Do _you_ think I’m scary?”

Chaewon’s eyes widen a fraction, though she does her best to do as Minju had just done, and not react. She doesn’t really know what this is, or what Minju is trying to lure her into, because there’s not a chance she’s chatting to Chaewon out of the good of her heart. She knows what Minju is and she knows what Minju does - a fraction of it, at least - and everything in her line of business is driven by want.

What does Minju want out of her?

Narrowing her gaze only slightly, Chaeown lets out a breath.

“No,”

Minju stares at her for a few moments longer, and the air between them is just becoming that slightest bit unbearable, and Chaewon’s just about to break the lock when-

Minju’s lips raise just slightly at one corner, and she looks down at her shoes, then back at Chaewon again, peering at her from beneath the dark wisps of hair that fall in front of her eyes. “Well then,” she says. “I’m not scary,” and with that, she’s looking back out at the floor again, taking another taste of her drink like they’d just had a chat about the weather. 

Pressing her lips together, Chaewon’s foot taps insistently on the floor, trying to muster up the courage to just _ask_. She’s not going to get any answers if she doesn’t and- really, what’s Minju going to do to her just for asking what the hell she’s even doing here?

“Minju,” the girl’s name falls from her lips before she gives herself a chance to second guess it.

Minju gives her a questioning hum as a response.

“You know that I’ve no clue what I’m here for, don’t you?”

Minju turns to look at her, expression a little darker, and perhaps that wasn’t the smartest way to instigate the topic. She draws her lips together. “Do you not?”

“I thought… I thought that I was getting myself involved in street racing,” she gestures to the floor, to the shot machines, to the countless card games being battled out beneath them. “But now I’m thinking there’s a bit more to it than that,”

Minju only gives her a blank look. “And how are you feeling about that?”

Chaewon only blinks at her. “W-What?”

Minju heaves a sigh, turning around so that her back is to the floor, leaning against the railing. She drums her fingernails against it, the sound similar to the ice against the cool glass. “Are you thinking _oh, there’s more,”_ she says it rather despondently, implying that Chaewon is disappointed by the idea. “Or are you thinking, _oh,”_ her tone switches, and it’s something… what, suggestive? “ _There’s more,”_ her gaze becomes hooded, and she traces the rim of her glass with her pointer finger. 

“Um…” Chaewon replies rather eloquently, averting her gaze and swallowing. “I’m, um…” 

“Chaewon,” Minju voices softly. Not the gentle kind of soft, the dangerous kind. 

Chaewon looks back at her, to see Minju’s gaze piercing into her again. 

Once more, Chaewon swallows. She has to force the words out, even if she chokes on them. This is her chance. 

“I’m- I’m thinking _there’s more,”_ she says it in the same fashion Minju had the second time, the words laced with greed and want, thinking about the word _more_ on the basis of gaining more for oneself. “But… I just want to know, how I’m going to get it,”

A smile slides across Minju’s lips, prettily, deceivingly so. It’s quite distracting, actually, now that it’s caught Chaewon’s attention, and she has to give herself a bit of a mental shake to get herself to focus again. “You know, the more you talk, the more I like you,” Minju’s laying the flattery on thick, she knows she is. Chaewon just needs to figure out why. 

“Look, I said I’d give you a trial run tonight, didn’t I?” Minju continues on. She tucks a hand into the inside pocket of her blazer, fishing around, before producing a- 

Chaewon stares at it.

“An envelope?”

In Minju’s hand, is an A4 sized brown envelope, still open, stuffed with bubble wrap and tissue.

Minju nods. “Hold into this?”

Chaewon takes it off of her, and peers inside, only to find it empty. “What do I-”

“You said before that you move around a lot, right?”

Chaewon looks away from the inside of the envelope, and at Minju, curious. “Yeah…” she replies, slowly. Cautiously. What does that have to do with anything?

“Well,” A small smile stretches Minju’s lips again, and she gently pushes the envelope to Chaewon’s chest. “Do a good job, and that might change,” 

“Wha-”

Chaewon stills. 

Held between Minju’s lithe fingertips, and scintillating in the pale lavender light, is a set of silver keys, polished like they’d been freshly cut and hanging from a ring like wind chimes. 

Chaewon gapes at them.

Minju, she-

“Oh my gosh,” A palm flies up to cover Chaewon‘s mouth, and she stands there in stunned silence, staring at the keys. “You- you’re not-”

Minju holds up a finger. “A good job,” she repeats for emphasis, though she gives the keys a little shake, making them jangle. “Nothing less than that,” 

Chaewon can’t bring her gaze away from the keys. This- this is fucking huge. No matter where those keys lead, or what they’re for, if they’re what Chaewon _thinks_ they’re for… Chaewon doesn’t think she believes what she’s seeing. She has to get them. No matter what.

She manages to tear her eyes away from them, looking at Minju with urgency. “What do I have to do?”

Minju simpers, tilting her chin up and stuffing the keys back into her pocket, and taking a final gulp of her drink before setting it down on a table next to them. 

“Chaeyeon and Yena should be just about finished soon,” she begins to walk away, and Chaewon watches for a moment. “How about we go see, hm?” 

A flash of red catches Chaewon’s eye, and she looks down to see Minju’s shoes. Their soles are a deep crimson, a contrast against the purple carpet, the same shade as blood, like she’d walked through a puddle thick with the stuff. Again, like Yuri’s watch, like Yena’s top, and surely like some sort of accessory of Chaeyeon’s that Chaewon just hasn’t seen yet… they’re fucking expensive.

Giving her head a jolt, she pushes the thought to the back of her mind, deeming it less important than other tasks she’s got at hand, and walks briskly to catch up with her. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Her and Minju stop outside a door on the main floor, a sign on it at eye level reading _private_. Minju holds up a hand to let her know they’ve reached their stop, before moving a finger to her lips. She presses an ear to the door, listening intently. Chaewon doesn’t know what she’s listening for, it’s too loud for her herself to hear anything with all the noise, but judging by the slow smile that smears on Minju’s lips, she likes what she’s hearing. Her eyes glimmer in Chaewon’s direction, and she looks genuinely pleased. “I didn’t think they’d be ready so soon,” she says, before pulling away from the door, and her expression shifting to something a bit more serious. “Now remember,” she rests a fist on the door, ready to knock. With her other hand she takes the keys out of her pocket, giving them a shake. “Only if you do a good job,”

Chaewon swallows, gripping onto the envelope tightly, nodding.

Minju stuffs the keys back into her pocket, and then knocks on the door thrice, sharply, leaning in close to it when she speaks. “It’s Minju!”

It takes a moment, Chaewon thinks she hears muffled cluttering of some sort, and then Yuri’s opening up the door, wide for Minju and Chaewon to step inside. “You’re in good time, they just finished,” Yuri motions for them to come inside, catching Chaewon’s eye and giving her an exaggerated wink. 

Yuri shuts the door behind them once they’ve both stepped into the room, she herself leaving, raising a hand at Minju in farewell, while Chaewon surveys the room. It’s small, firstly, with the same consistent colour scheme as the main floor. It’s stiflingly hot, jackets slung over the backs of chairs evident of that much, Chaewon practically able to taste the humidity on her tongue. There’s something thick in the air, something causing her immediate unease, the weight of it like fingertips resting that bit too comfortably on her shoulders. The lighting is low, the only brightness coming from the four mellow lamps placed meticulously in the corners of the room, the fifth in the middle of a poker table, lighting it up. The first thing that catches Chaewon’s eye is Yena. She’s sitting on one of the chairs, in Chaewon’s immediate line of sight, legs crossed and leaned back. A card is held between her thumb and pointer finger, a black-coated nail flicking against it’s corner, a soft _thwacking_ noise being emitted from it. Her gaze is hooded, something a bit dark, something a bit brooding, and she gives Chaewon a humourless smile when she catches her eye.

Then, Chaewon hears a loud grunt, and she can’t stop the gasp that spills past her lips. Turning to face the other end of the room, she completely freezes up, hand flying up to cover her mouth out of sheer instinct. 

The man from earlier is sitting in a chair that was presumably once at the other end of the poker table, but has been pushed back so that it’s near the wall. He’s bound to it, the chair, hands pinned to the arm rests with a thick rope, winding around his chest and his legs and-

Chaewon’s breath becomes caught in her throat. 

She doesn’t know what she had been expecting. It hadn’t been this.

Next to her, Minju gives her a gentle pinch, and breathes in close by her ear: “A good job,”

Chaewon can only stare, somehow forcing herself to take her hand away from her mouth. A gag has been stuffed past the man’s lips, which is why the noises he’s making are so muffled, shaking his head insistently and struggling, but it’s no use. 

Chaeyeon, she just about sees through her daze, is squatted behind him, finishing off tying up the rope. It squeezes his skin, digs into it and causes it to whiten, flesh that’s been pinched between turning a shade to match the walls. His eyes are bulging out of their sockets, lips thin and slick around the gag. 

There’s the sound of rope being pulled tight, the man’s letting out a choked inhale, and then, Chaeyeon’s standing up. “Fucker wouldn’t keep up his side of the deal,” she sighs, dusting herself down, like this was all just some minor inconvenience. “It was necessary,”

“And you think it’s fun!” Yena sing-songs from the other side of the room, brow pinched in concentration as she folds the card in half. 

Chaeyeon raises a brow at her, unimpressed. “And you don’t?”

Yena purses her lips, almost childlike. “Didn’t say that,” she grumbles.

Chaeyeon heaves a sigh, shaking her head, before turning to face Chaewon. It takes Chaewon a moment to comprehend that she’s looking right at her. “I’m sorry, I didn’t introduce myself,” she places a palm on her chest. “I’m Chaeyeon,”

Chaewon just about manages to force herself to speak - only just about. “Chaewon,” she gestures lamely to herself, the word coming out weakly.

Chaeyeon just nods at her, and out of the corner of her eye, Chaewon sees Minju move away from her, and over in the direction of the table, where she leans against it. From her position, she’s looking down on the man, chin raised slightly to emphasise the point. Her tone is clear when she speaks, unwavering. “Baek Junghwa, wasn’t it?”

The man, Junghwa, Chaewon assumes, nods his head begrudgingly. 

Minju hums, mirroring his movement and nodding her head slowly. “You know, I don’t think I need to spell it out for you. You’re thick, but I’m sure you know what’s going on, hm?” 

Junghwa doesn’t offer her any response this time, other than the narrowing of his eyes. 

Minju turns her neck to look at Yena behind her. “You won, I’m assuming?”

Yena grins, leaning forward and picking up a fan of cards that had been placed neatly on the table in front of her, biting her tongue between her teeth with giddiness. All of them red in colour, all of them hearts, a ten, a jack, a queen, a king, and an ace, and if Chaewon’s not mistaken-

“A royal flush,” Yena looks at the cards with elation written all over her face, before she looks up at Junghwa, and her expression shifts to something a little more sly. “I guess I’m just that lucky,”

If he could, Chaewon imagines he’d grit his teeth, judging by how the prominent vein bulging in his temple is pulsing, seeming fit to burst. 

Chaewon wishes she could take off her jacket, it’s fucking boiling in here, but the atmosphere is so tense she doesn’t dare move a muscle. She feels herself break out a sweat, and resists the urge to wipe it off.

“And you know what?” Chaeyeon rounds the table, moving to sit next to Minju, leaning forward and propping her elbows on her knees. “That really fucking pisses me off,” she points at Yena behind her, who’s still grinning gleefully. “I fucking owe that bitch now. First one of us to reach three royal flushes is owed a million won from the other. One million fucking won, you just lost me,” she points a finger at him, and yeah, she’s pissed. “So not only do I owe her now because of you, I fucking…” she trails off, turning around to look at Yena, who’s sitting in her chair all too smugly. “I really fucking hate you,”

Yena throws her a lazy hand kiss. “You love me,”

Chaeyeon turns back around, and her expression goes right back to severe again. “I owe her, and now a prick like you who owes _us-_ ” she gestures at the girls in general. “-is refusing to pay up,”

Minju gives her head a quick nod. “She’s right,” she says, and looks Junghwa in the eyes. “Look, I’m not here to beat around the bush yeah? I’m here to play fair, something I’m sure you preach,” she pushes herself off the table, and walks towards him, crouching down once she’s reached him so that they’re at eye level. She simply analyses him, for a moment, eyes running races over her features, and her lip curls. She lets out a short breath, looking away like she can’t even bear the sight. “Take out the gag, Chaeyeon,” she brushes her hair away from her face.

Chaeyeon does as she’s asked of, yet Junghwa still stays silent, except this time he’s free to grit his teeth. Yena stands up out of her chair, moving to stand next to Chaewon, and Minju straightens up, peering down her nose at him. “You know what’s going on here, but just to make sure we’re clear, I want you to spell it out for me. Why can’t you pay me?”

Junghwa only continues to glare at her, for a few moments, before tearing his gaze away, mumbling something under his breath. 

Minju rolls her eyes, crossing her arms. “Louder,”

“Don’t have any money,”

Yena scoffs. “Threw it all away, more like,” she props herself up on the table, and produces a packet of cigarettes from her pocket, holding it out to Chaeyeon, who takes one without even having to look at it.

“You don’t have any money,” Minju continues on, speaking slowly and enunciating each word, like she’s talking to a child. “So what deal was agreed in this room then?”

Junghwa jerks his head to the side in a frustrated manner, clicking his tongue. “Do I really have to-”

“Do yourself a favour, man,” Chaeyeon cuts across him, leaned in close to Yena, setting the cigarette that the girl’s got pinched between her teeth alight. “Just fucking spit it out,” she succeeds, the tip catching the flame, and lets out a soft hum. She drops the lighter into Yena’s awaiting palm and sticks her own cigarette between her lips, reversing their positions. 

Junghwa’s jaw is clenched, so tightly it seems painful, the muscles taught beneath his skin before he makes up his mind. “Fucking- fine alright? I came in here for one last game, and those two-”

Both Chaeyeon’s and Yena’s necks snap up to look at him, and whatever curse he had in his mouth fizzles out on his tongue.

“And those _two,_ made a bet with me that if I won, I’d be let out of debt. All the money I’d lost would be given back to me, even in games played before tonight’s, it would be returned,”

At those words, Chaewon’s eyebrows climb. The stakes for the game he’d played against Chaeyeon had been pretty high, right? Hadn’t she said something like a hundred and twenty million? And assuming from what they’ve said, he’s played Yena twice already, once in this room and once before Chaewon had even arrived, and from what he’s said just now, there’s been games even before tonight. If all of those games have had such high stakes, and the bet was that all that money would be given back in this single game… then that means the cost of Junghwa _losing..._

All of a sudden, Chaewon’s blood runs cold.

Her eyes drift down to his hands, to the tips of his fingers, wrapped in fresh bandage. She stares at them, unable to tear her gaze away, everything fading to background noise. She feels sick to the stomach.

This isn’t racing. This isn’t some meeting point, this is… this is so much fucking worse than she ever could’ve imagined. 

Looking away and down at her shoes, Chaewon blinks rapidly, fingers gripping onto the envelope tight as she tries to calm herself down. Black spots cloud her vision, whirling around like spotlights, almost making a mockery of her. Her breaths are rapid, and she dampens her lips, giving her head a soft shake. Everyone’s voices fade into a soft drone, sounding like they’re underwater.

_No, no, no, no, no. That’s too extreme. They’re not connected, they can’t-_

A resounding slap echoes throughout the room, forcefully jolting Chaewon out of her daze. Her jaw hangs open unknowingly, drinking in the sight of Junghwa’s head turned to the side, cheek a soft shade of pink. 

Minju grits out the words through her teeth. “Eyes on my face,”

At the words, Chaeyeon and Yena both react, standing up and moving to peer at the man past Minju’s shoulder. 

“Eyes on your- no, no fucking way,” Yena eyes are set alight with something malicious, something intentional, her words punctuated by a laugh of disbelief. She stands next to Minju, cigarette pinched between two of her fingers. The way she’s staring at him, eyes unblinking and wild… Chaewon can tell the man’s becoming uncomfortable, shifting beneath the bonds, and she doesn’t doubt that’s Yena’s every intention. 

Then Yena lets out a laugh, loud, piercing the silence, and Chaewon can’t stop herself from flinching. “Oh my fucking god,” she exclaims, pushing her hair back from her face. That elated smile stays on her face for another moment or two, before it’s thawing from her lips, and contorting into something more like a sneer. “What, are you fucking into this, you sick fuck?”

Junghwa keeps shifting restlessly, clearly disliking of Yena’s eyes on him. “I didn’t-”

Yena’s movement is so fast, and Chaewon’s brain is working so slow, she almost doesn’t catch it.

She raises her leg sharply, and Chaewon just about catches sight of the thick heel of her boot, before it comes down on the man’s groin.

A sort of strangled noise is produced from somewhere in Junghwa’s throat, a gurgling sound caused by the excess saliva in his mouth, and it’s so animalistic that Chaewon rips her gaze away, turning her neck so that she’s facing the opposite direction. Her eyes dart around wildly, breath speeding back up again, able to feel beads of sweat sliding down her neck.

Junghwa’s pained cries don’t stop, if anything, they grow more strained, more strangled, and Chaewon can hear him thrashing in his restraints. 

“Minju…” Yena speaks almost painfully slowly, a low sounding laugh coming from her at the sound of Junghwa’s torment. “Is more lenient than I am. But fucking with her, means you’re fucking with me,” she does something, something Chaewon can’t see, doesn’t _want_ to see, but whatever it is, it makes Junghwa cry out. “When you look at her…” Yena carries on. “It’s with nothing but respect. Got it?”

Chaewon hears Junghwa make some sort of an attempt at a yes, manages to splutter out some form of agreement, which thankfully, Yena seems to accept as satisfactory. At the sound of Junghwa letting out a sigh of relief, Chaewon tentatively twists her neck to look back at everyone. Yena is still standing in front of him, both feet on the floor now, thankfully. She takes a drag of her cigarette, holding out her other hand in Chaeyeon’s direction. The girl quirks an eyebrow at her, and Yena replies with one word. “Gun,”

Chaewon’s tongue goes heavy in her mouth, feeling like a bag of wet sand, head growing dizzy. This wasn’t on the agenda, none of this was on the agenda, she wasn’t- wasn’t fucking _told_ -

She gives herself a gentle pinch, like Minju had done to her earlier. _Just do a good job,_ she tells herself, repeating it inside her head, over and over like a mantra. _Just stand here, and do a good job._

Chaeyeon produces a sleek, black pistol, and Chaewon tells herself to focus. She knows how to handle one like that, she’s had the same amount of firearms training that any other detective would, but she’s never had to shoot anyone. She’s never _seen_ someone be shot. 

Chaeyeon tosses it to Yena, who catches it, sticking her cigarette in between her teeth and rounding the back of the chair.

The vein in Junghwa’s temple has begun to pulse faster, looking like it’s trying to break free from the confines of his skin. “Thuh-this-” he’s begun to shake. “This wasn’t- wasn’t part of the deal,”

Yena laughs, leaning down so that her elbows are propped up on either side of the top of the seat. “You think we care?” she scoffs.

Chaeyeon folds her arms. “She’s not gonna shoot you,” 

Yena pouts, honest to god pouts in a situation like this, and gives Chaeyeon a look. “I’m not..?”

Chaeyeon looks like she’s trying her very best not to roll her eyes, pointedly ignoring her. “She’s not going to shoot you as long as you keep up _your_ end of the deal,” 

Jonghwa’s face has blanched. If he was looking at Minju earlier on, now he’s not looking at any of them, gaze drifting off into space like he’s mentally absent. 

Tutting, Chaeyeon strolls back over in the direction of her jacket, stubbing out her cigarette on the ashtray on the table. “Which one is it again?” she asks airily, picking up her jacket and fishing around inside the pockets. 

Minju’s moved back to sit on the table again, leaning back on her palms, stare cold and hard. “Ring,” she says simply. “Where does his wife think he is right now? China, is that what Sakura said?”

Chaeyeon hums in response, distractedly.

“Well, I think it seems quite fitting then,” Minju turns her head in Chaewon’s direction, as if only just now remembering that she’s there. “Come sit,” She gestures for her to come over, which Chaewon gingerly abides by. She keeps her eyes trained on the floor in front of her, not daring to look up to meet the man’s eyes.

Chaeyeon comes back into her line of sight, and this time-

And this time she’s holding a knife.

It’s nothing large, on the contrary it’s quite small, a black hilt and a blade that glints almost menacingly in the pale lilac light. Chaeyeon’s adjusting her grip on it, turning it in her hold, like she’s getting a feel for it. 

Chaewon’s head is running a mile a minute, the puzzle pieces inside her head slowly forming a picture, and she doesn’t like what she’s seeing at all. The bandages, the knife, the debt that you can still pay even once you’ve run out of money…

_Which one is it again?_

_Ring._

Chaeyeon lets out a soft sigh. “You made this drag on way longer than it needed to,” she mutters. She crouches down beside Junghwa, pushes the fingers of his right hand beneath his palm, so that only one sticks out. “Unlike you after we’re done here, I’ve actually got someone waiting for me at home,” 

Yena simpers in a shrewd manner, mischievous. “Why think about your girlfriend when you can think about me?”

Minju scoffs. “Do not let Yuri hear you say that,”

Yena glares at her. “Yuri knows full well I put her first, thanks,”

“And I’m expected to put you before Sakura,” Chaeyeon drones monotonously. 

Yena clicks her tongue around the stub of her cigarette, shaking her head. “Clearly you haven’t met me, Chaeyeonie,”

_They’re so… relaxed_ , Chaewon thinks to herself, disquieted. It’s straight up disturbing, that they’re having such lighthearted, trivial conversation at such a very much _not_ lighthearted point in time. 

Whatever they’re saying seems to be falling on deaf ears, Junghwa still staring off into space, eyes glazed over. He seems to have sort of accepted that what’s going to happen has to happen, and it’s going to happen whether he likes it or not. 

“We were going to sell it, initially, your finger,” Minju says, as Chaeyeon makes quick work of the gag again, effectively shutting him up. Yena presses the nozzle of the gun to the underside of his jaw, which he leans away from instinctively, but not by much. 

“Though I don’t think it would sell for a lot, if I’m honest. Damaged goods don’t do well on the market, so I hear,” Minju tilts her head, and the smallest of smiles spreads on her lips. “But then we were oh so kindly informed of the wife you’ve got back home. She thinks you’re in China on business at the moment, doesn’t she?”

Junghwa offers her a weak hum as a reply. 

“Poor woman doesn’t know you’ve gambled all your money away. She doesn’t know that you’re here right now, because you lied to her,”

Chaewon’s brain is sluggish, and she doesn’t want to think but she has to. Her eyes drift down to the envelope in her grasp, and something sick churns in her stomach. 

Minju smiles wider. “We should send her on a gift to lessen the blow of the news, don’t you agree?”

Yena readjusts her grip on the handle of the pistol, nudging it against Junghwa’s flesh. “Flinch too hard and my finger might just slip,” she whispers, snickering delightedly to herself when he shudders. 

Chaeyeon lines up the knife with Junghwa’s finger, and Chaewon’s gaze snaps back down to the floor, heart beating wildly inside her chest. Suddenly, the envelope becomes something she can’t bear to look at either, keeping her eyes trained on her shoes, trying to swallow down the lump in her throat that just seems to keep on growing. 

She feels Minju brush her hair away from her neck, _knows_ that she does it, but hardly even registers it. Two cool fingers are brushed against her neck, then taken away. “You’re burning up,” Minju murmurs in her ear, but Chaewon barely hears her.

In her peripherals, Chaewon sees Chaeyeon raise her arm.

It’s happening all too fast, she can’t keep up, she has to think, she has to-

_Swish._

Chaewon screws her eyes shut.

_Thunk._

Her throat runs dry. 

Junghwa lets out a high-pitched cry, muffled against the gag, and Chaewon can hear the sounds of him thrashing against the rope. He groans, and the noise of nails tapping against metal is heard. 

“Stay fucking still,” Yena’s voice, a hiss.

Chaewon doesn’t want to look up. She tells herself not to, tells herself that no matter what she sees, she’s not going to like it. But her curiosity gets the better of her, and slowly, she’s raising her head.

Her stomach immediately flips, saliva suddenly draining from her mouth, and yeah, she’s gonna be sick. 

Red is spattered everywhere. It pools on the wooden armrest, spilling past the edges and dripping a steady stream into the velvety, plum carpet. The smell of it hits Chaewon almost immediately, irony and metallic, the stench so strong she can practically taste it on her tongue. It’s hard to see from where she’s sitting, dead in front of Jonghwa, so from her perspective, his finger still seems very much attached to his hand, minus the excess blood. She can’t bring herself to look away. 

“Chaewon,” Minju’s voice is soft in her ear, sounding like it’s coming from somewhere far off. She feels a hand gliding through her hair. “Put it in the envelope,”

_Put it in the envelope._

_Put it in the envelope._

So this is it. This is what Minju wants her to do, this is the entire reason that she brought her here tonight. To put a fucking mutilated finger into a brown envelope.

God, when she puts it like that, it almost sounds easy. 

_A good job. All you have to do is a good job._

With shaky legs, Chaewon gathers herself to her feet, the black spots like ink blots returning to her vision. She doesn’t look up, doesn’t look anyone in the eye, just keep her eyes trained on the ground as she walks until she sees Junghwa’s shoes a foot away from hers. 

She doesn’t want to touch it, fuck, she doesn’t even want to fucking _look_ at it, her throat so dry it feels like it’s been lined with sandpaper. She stands there, frozen to the spot, everyone in the room looking at her. 

Thank god, _thank fucking god,_ Chaeyeon seems to pick up on her distress. She picks _it_ up, Chaewon just about sees in her peripherals. “Open it up,”

Chaewon quickly complies, knowing she got out of this situation easier than she should’ve, and opens up the envelope wide, holding it out in front of Chaeyeon. She waits, a moment or two, until she feels it being dropped inside, and the envelope becomes that slightest bit heavier. Just as fast, Chaewon seals the envelope without a word. 

She looks over her shoulder at Minju, who’s looking at her with a satisfied look. “You can go now,” she says. “Yuri’s waiting for you outside,” 

_That’s it._

Chaewon doesn’t know what she’s feeling - if she’s feeling - all of her emotions mixed together like some fucked up concoction, but one thing that bubbles to the surface is relief. It’s amidst several other ugly things, like raw disgust, repulsion, but _finally_ , she can leave the stifling heat of this room and fucking _breathe_.

Not wanting to delay in the slightest, Chaewon nods her head and makes for the exist, pushing down on the door handle.

“Oh, and Chaewon?”

Chaewon stills, pressing her lips together, before turning back around. 

Minju’s got a glint in her eye. “Good job,” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The drive on the way back to The Outskirts in Yuri’s car is practically silent.

It’s just the two of them, Chaewon and Yuri, not that it makes Chaewon feel any better. She’s staring down at the envelope in her lap, not daring to touch it, her tongue bitten between her molars as if it’ll prevent the scream that’s trapped inside her throat from forcing its way out.

Yuri didn’t say anything as Chaewon got into the car, had probably easily picked up on her distress, and just proceeded to drive.

She’d just watched as someone had gotten his finger chopped off. Shit, she’d just seen someone’s finger get fucking mutilated. 

She breathes in heavy through her nose, shakily. 

In her peripherals, she sees Yuri look at her uneasily, then turning her attention back to the road, and back to Chaewon again. She sighs, before finally deciding to speak up. “Minju wants you to post the package, by five p.m tomorrow at the latest. There’s no need to go to a post office, it’s light enough. The address is written on the front, isn’t it?” 

Chaewon looks down at it, squinting in the dark. Sure enough, there’s an address written on the front that she hadn’t even registered before. She dampens her lips, and replies with a throaty “Yeah,”

“And look, you’re probably not, but if you _were_ to think about trying anything…”

Chaewon looks up at her, but Yuri’s staring straight at the road.

“Well, you saw what they can do,”

Chaewon can’t bring herself to do anything other than nod her head, pressing her lips together. 

They fall back into silence again, painfully uncomfortable and a total contrast to how the journey had been. There’s so many thoughts flitting and whirling around Chaewon’s head that she just can’t deal with right now, so she just blocks them all out. She props her chin up on her palm, and forces herself to look out the window, anywhere but at the package on her lap. She does her best to swallow down the foul taste in her mouth, focusing her attention on the streetlamps that pass by them. 

And then, Yuri’s sighing again, pushing her glasses up higher on her nose. “Look, I know that this is-”

She’s cut off by a loud ringtone, causing Chaewon to flinch, and she looks up. The screen in the centre of the control panel has lit up, with both green and red phone icons, and someone’s name written above them.

Chaewon squints at it, her vision still a little blotchy.

_Wonyoung._

Clicking her tongue, Yuri mutters an apology, before reaching out and accepting the call. “Wonyoungie? Is everything alright?”

There’s shuffling, on the other end of the line for a moment, before a voice comes through. “Yuri-unnie,” the voice is tired, a little high pitched, Yuri’s name drawn out into a petty whine. “Where are you?”

Yuri shoots the screen an incredulous look. “I’m coming back from The Violeta, do you-” she darts her gaze down to the watch on her wrist. “Do you have any idea what time it is?”

The girl on the other end of the line, Wonyoung, Chaewon’s assuming, seems to choose to ignore the latter part of Yuri’s sentence. “Oh… I forgot about that. Kkura-unnie didn’t go with you tonight, did she? I should’ve gone to her place instead,”

Yuri rubs at her face with a hand, but keeps her voice level. “Where are you right now, Wonyoung-ah?” 

The reply comes instantly. “Yours and Yena-unnie’s,”

Yuri lets out a groan, slouching in her seat. “I keep telling you, that key is for _emergencies_ ,”

“This _is_ an emergency!” Wonyoung exclaims, sounding offended. “I wanted ramen,”

Despite herself, Chaewon finds herself smiling.

“You can’t keep coming to me whenever you want food gone midnight,” Yuri grumbles.

“Yes I can,” 

“Wonyoung-ah-”

“Admit it, you love late-night ramen just as much as I do,”

Yuri lets out a long exhale, pressing her lips together and shaking her head, looking like she’s doing her absolute best not to smile. “Fine,” she quips, and Chaewon hears cheering on the other end of the line. “But do _not_ make a mess!” she adds on quickly. “Tidy up after yourself, not a chance in hell I’m washing a single thing when I get back,”

“I will!” Wonyoung replies brightly. “I love you, Yuri-unnie,” 

Yuri makes a face. “You love that I feed you,”

Wonyoung kisses into the receiver. “Bye!”

Yuri rolls her eyes. “See you soon,”

Three beeps echo throughout the car, and they’re plunged into silence again, save for the low rumble of the tires against the tarmac. 

“That,” Yuri says. “Was Wonyoung. You’ll meet her pretty soon, given that you do a good job,”

A good job. 

Chaewon lets out a slow breath.

All she has to do is a good job. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


Chaewon briskly walks into Eunbi’s room, throwing down her coat somewhere in the doorway, moving her hair away from her face agitatedly from her face as she shakily types Eunbi’s number into the disposable phone. She sits down on the edge of the bed, not bothering to turn on the light, nibbling on a hangnail and bouncing her knee up and down.

“Pick up pick up pick up pick _up, c’mon_ ,”

It’s so late, hell, it’s beyond late at this stage, but it’s not like Chaewon’s going to fucking sleep. Her mind is in overdrive, so, so many thoughts, but all she wants now is for Eunbi to pull through and answer the damn phone.

The cursed thing keeps ringing, the same monotonous drone in her ear over and over again, and a string of loud curses spill from Chaewon’s lips without her even registering it. It must be near a full minute, it rings for, and Chaewon’s just starting to consider throwing the object across the room out of frustration when-

The line fizzes and crackles. Chaewon holds her breath.

“Chaewon-ah..?”

“Oh thank fuck,” Chaewon lets out a sigh of relief, falling backwards onto the bed and covering her eyes with her palm.

“What is it?” Eunbi’s voice is groggy, most likely having just woken up. “I thought I said not to ring too often, this is-”

“This isn’t a racing group, unnie,” Chaewon cuts her off, voice quivering, more quiet than she’d intended. She presses her lips together, shaking her head like she’s still in disbelief. “This isn’t a fucking racing group,”

Eunbi is quiet for a moment, before Chaewon hears rustling, like she’s sitting up. “What..?” her voice too, has gone quiet. “Chaewon- what the hell happened,”

Chaewon bites out another curse. “God, what didn’t fucking happen,”

“Okay, okay, just... go from the start,” Eunbi sounds a bit more awake, sounding more and more like how she does when they’re in the station. “You went to the place where the race was last night. Then what?”

Chaewon bites her tongue, trying her best to regain at least a fraction of her composure before she speaks. “I got picked up, and we drove so far we left The Outskirts, and into the next ring. We went to this- this casino, The Violeta or something? And there were these two girls, from Minju’s group, they just… they totally stripped this guy of his money, playing poker I mean, like all of his money just gone. And they brought him into this like back room thing… but before that I talked to Minju, sorry,” she waves a hand, turning her story around. “She was like _so you move around from place to place right_ , and I was like _yeah_ , and then she goes _well if you do a good job tonight, and that might change_ , and then she holds up a set of keys, as in, offering me a place to stay,” she stops to take in a breath, knowing she’s speaking much to fast but not caring in the slightest, everything is just pouring out of her and she has to get it out. “So we go into the back room, and the two other girls are there with this guy, and they beat him again, I’m pretty sure? But he- he’s got no fucking money, unnie, h-he-”

Her chest is growing too tight. Her throat begins to burn, eyes stinging.

“Chaewon-ah,” Eunbi’s voice is soft in her ears, a comfort. “Breath. In and out, nice and slow,” she does as she’s describing, Chaewon following the pattern. Eventually, her throat opens up, and her ribcage loosens its grip around her lungs. “That’s it. You’re doing so well,”

She can breathe just fine, but her eyes still sting. Against her palm, Chaewon feels them grow damp. “They- they cut off his finger, Eunbi-unnie. I was right fucking there, right in front of me, they just cut it off. This man’s finger is in an envelope in your front hallway and I have to fucking post it off to his wife tomorrow and I-”

“Breathe, Chaewon. Please,” Eunbi’s voice is shaken, but she keeps her own breaths slow for Chaewon to match. 

Chaewon does as she’s told, staying quiet for a few minutes, breathing slowly until her heart rate comes down. She stutters, every once in a while, a choked out sob she didn’t know she was repressing forcing its way past her lips. Tears run stray tracks down her cheeks, which she makes no effort at all to wipe away. 

“We can talk about this another time, when you’ve calmed down, hm? You’re distressed right now, talking about it more will do you more harm than good. You can tell me in more detail once you’re feeling better,”

“Yeah…” Chaewon blubbers out, wiping at her cheeks. “Yeah, you’re right I…” she trails off, cringing, kind of wanting to burry herself alive. “Fuck, I’m so sorry, unnie, two days in and I’m,”

“No,” Eunbi cuts across her, still gentle, yet firm. “No, Chaewon, you… you weren’t prepared for this. This isn’t what you signed up to, I’m…” she lets out a short breath. “I’m so in shock I don’t know what to say. _Fuck_ ,”

Chaewon tries for a laugh, sure it comes out a little watery, and not at all convincing. “No look, you’re right, I’ll talk to you when I can think straight, my head’s all over the fucking place right now. I’m so sorry, I just woke you up for nothing,”

“Chaewon, no, really you’ve nothing to be sorry for. I would’ve done the same thing, hell, anyone would’ve,” Eunbi pauses, like she’s thinking. “And you just have to post… post it tomorrow? Like in a post box?” 

Chaewon grimaces, but hums in affirmation.

Eunbi groans, and Chaewon hears more rustling. “Just… fuck Chaewon, I know it’s shit, but I’m gonna have to ask you to just pull through with it. It still stands, no matter what they ask of you, you have to do it. Just… just get it overwith, ring me, and if you want us to abort-”

“No,” Chaewon sits up sharply, suddenly feeling panicky again. “No, I still want to keep going. I can still do it,”

Eunbi hesitates. “Look, just sleep on it Chaewon. Please? We don’t have to come to a decision now, or anytime soon, but just get this situation off your back and then we can talk it through, alright? I want you to be calm when we make any big decisions,” 

“Yeah,” Chaewon rubs at her face again. “Yeah, no, you’re right. Thank you, unnie,”

“Just please rest, Chaewon-ah,” Eunbi implores her. “I know it sounds shit, but just, do whatever you can to take your mind off of things,”

“Mmh,”

“Take care. And only call me as soon as you’re ready,”

“I will,”

“Sleep well, Chaewon,”

“You too,”

  
  
  
  
  


Chaewon wakes up just before the sun rises, in a cold sweat, and vomits into the basin she’d placed next to her bed before sleeping, that familiar stench of blood burning her nostrils.

  
  
  
  
  
  


Eunbi shuts the door behind Hyewon when she enters her office, Hyewon throwing her a confused look.

“Is everything alright?” she asks, frowning at her when Eunbi doesn’t answer her right away. “Eun-”

“Chaewon called last night. Sit down, sit down, there’s- oh my god, we’re in such deep shit,”

Hyewon’s expression turns alarmed, doing as Eunbi had requested, pulling out the chair in front of her desk and sitting herself down in it. Eunbi sits where she usually does at the desk, and she sees Hyewon cast her a once-over worriedly. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” she sounds genuinely concerned, leaning closer. “What- did you sleep at all last night? What the hell happened?”

Eunbi taps her fingers against the desk, trying to keep her thoughts linear and her emotions in check. Hyewon is looking at her with such apprehension, which won’t do. She has to calm down, she’s the one responsible for keeping everyone in check. She takes in a slow breath, and then speaks. “She called me at what, two, three in the morning? I don’t know, it doesn’t matter,” she swallows. Her words are quivering, but there’s not much she can do to stop that. “What matters is that they took Chaewon to a place outside The Outskirts,”

Hyewon’s eyes widen. “They what?”

Eunbi nods. “A casino. And who do we know that’s conveniently good at card games?”

A look of realisation dawns on Hyewon’s features, and she shakes her head softly, like she doesn’t want to believe it. “Unnie… no. You think _she_ knew?” 

Eunbi scoffs. “Of course she fucking knew. She knew and she never told us shit. And not only that, she never told us they worked beyond The Outskirts. If they’re working in the next ring, who’s to say they don’t go in as far as the Centre?”

Hyewon still has that look of disbelief written all over her features, still shaking her head. “What did Chaewon do there?”

“I didn’t ask for the details, she was so choked up she could hardly even form a coherent sentence,” Eunbi presses her lips together. “It was something about this guy, two girls from Minju’s group won all of his money off of him, they could be anyone. They played one more game, I think she said, and this guy loses, but he’s got no money left, so they just… cut off his finger,”

Hyewon’s jaw drops.

“Right there, with Chaewon in the room. Said that Minju told her if she posted the finger off to the guy’s wife today, she’d give her a place to stay,” 

There’s silence, between them both, Eunbi’s words hanging thick in the air like fog. Hyewon just covers her mouth with her hand, completely stunned.

“She was in the room when it happened,” Hyewon asks for confirmation, voice muffled by her hand. “Like she saw it happen,”

“That’s what she told me,”

“Fuck, unnie,” Hyewon exhales, taking her hands away from her face and slouching in her seat. She stares at the ground for a moment, and Eunbi gives her a moment to digest everything. “This is only Chaewon’s second day, how come…” she’s visibly struggling. “How come we weren’t told this the last time?”

“Look, we know just how extreme it is now,” Eunbi says, trying to find some sort of positivity amongst everything else. “We know what the consequences are. I’m thinking now… maybe that’s why she hasn’t reached out to us in so long. Because that’s the mentality in there,”

Hyewon’s gaze is still trained on the ground. “If they organise street racing,” her voice is quiet. “And they have people in casinos robbing people of their money… then god only knows what else they’re involved in,” she looks up at Eunbi. “What if this is an issue that’s out of our control? Chaewon’s not prepared for this in the slightest, Eunbi, neither-” her voice wavers a little. “Neither was she,” she pauses, and then- “Are we really going to keep her in there? Chaewon?”

“I said we could discuss it when her head had cleared, along with everything else in general, but when I mentioned it to her… she seemed adamant on staying,”

Hyewon lets out a soft cry, a humouless smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “And that’s half the reason she’s so good, it’s why we picked her in the first place. She’s so determined, literally nothing will knock her down no matter how much she gets hit,” her expression shifts into something a bit more sad. “It’s people like her that… that just don’t know when to quit,” 

Eunbi doesn’t quite know how to respond, because, well, she’s right. So, she stays quiet.

Hyewon must sense that she’s not going to say anything, because she speaks up again. Always knows her so well, Hyewon. “Are we going to tell the others?”

Eunbi leans back in her chair, looking up at the ceiling. “We’re gonna have to, aren’t we? If we’re to figure out what to do. I’ll call them in later on today, I don’t see any point in stalling,”

Hyewon hums in agreement. “More exciting than paperwork, you could argue. Poor Hitomi-”

She cuts herself off, eyes going wide again. “Oh no, Hitomi,”

“Ah,” Eunbi’s face scrunches up. “I forgot,”

Distress fills up Hyewon’s features again. “She’s going to be so upset. She was so against Chaewon ever going in the first place, hearing that she- she had to watch someone’s finger getting fucking sliced off...” she trails off, shuddering.

“We’ll have to drip feed it to her. To all of them,” Eunbi figures. “It’s not something that anyone can take lightly, I just…” she blinks a couple times, rapidly, like this is some sort of hallucination that she’s going to wake up from any minute now. “I hate that Chaewon had to see that,”

“And that’s only after two days,” Hyewon mutters bitterly. “Imagine the toll a couple months would take on you,” 

They fall into more silence again after that, not uncomfortable, just contemplative. Hyewon’s smart, anyone who knows her knows it, and Eunbi can see the cogs of her brain working a mile a minute. It’s not easy for her, hell, it’s not easy for any of them, which only makes Eunbi want to work harder, for the unit’s sake.

Then, out of the blue, a soft, scratching noise infiltrates her ears, and she sits up, eyebrows knitting. “Did you hear that?”

Ripped from her concentration, Hyewon blinks at her. “Hear what?”

Eunbi holds up a finger to her lips. “Listen,” she whispers. 

They stay quiet, Hyewon’s eyes darting around, for about ten, fifteen seconds. But, nothing can be heard except for the low drone of conversation coming from downstairs. 

Hyewon lets out an attempt at a laugh. “You didn’t get much sleep last night, maybe you just-”

The scratching sound, again. Louder this time. 

Eunbi points a finger at her. “You heard it just there, right?”

Hyewon looks bewildered, looking at the wall behind Eunbi. “Yeah I… it sounds like it came from over there,”

Again, a scratching sound, like nails against a chalkboard, except it’s rapid, almost desperate sounding. 

Standing up out of her chair, Eunbi walks over to the back wall quietly, pressing her ear to it tentatively. The scratching sound becomes amplified, and it sends a shiver down her spine, her teeth watering. 

Then, a soft squeak.

Ah.

Eunbi’s lip curls. 

“Fucking rats,” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the plot thickens ooooooh, i know these first two chapters have been a bit gruesome, but the whole torture side of things is gonna calm down a bit from here on out. we're going to meet the last of our characters in the next chapter, wonkkura! i'm super excited to show you guys their characters, i like them a lot hehe.  
> once again, thank you guys for all your support! it really means a lot, and i'll see you in a few weeks with chapter three!
> 
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> [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/glitzyena)


	3. Aftertaste

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "And maybe I've become a little greedier,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so. this chapter was going swimmingly. everything was great, i was on schedule, and then BOOM. MASSIVE plot hole, slaps me right in the face, not a fun time. i had to go back and rewrite sm of this chapter, massive pain, massive setback, you get the idea. i also got rapper yena in dddance and that just had me out of it for a solid twelve hours but that's a story for another time. the important thing is that it's here now and we can finally move on lmao. 
> 
> so! last chapter, it's been a minute. at the start, chaewon rang eunbi to tell her she met minju at the race just to update her. the next night yuri picks her up and drives her outside the outskirts, which chaewon's never done before, v sus. she drives her out to the violeta, where chaeyeon and yena win against a man who's in some serious debt rip. chaewon goes up and chats with minju, and minju tells her that if she "does a good job", vague bitch, she'll give her a place to stay, and chaewon's like lol ok. so they head into one of the back rooms where chaeyena have the same man tied up, he can't pay in actual money, so they cut off his finger etc etc. chaewon's task is to mail off the finger, and in return minju will give her a place to stay okay okay lets go.
> 
> oh also, apologies if there's a few mistakes in this chapter, i was tired as shit when i was editing so i might've missed a couple things :((
> 
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> [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/glitzyena)

“Can I have a stamp please?”

The boy sat at the counter doesn’t even offer her a proper reply, just grunts in her general direction, mustering all his will to get up out of his seat behind the counter. He takes his single earbud out, Chaewon instantly able to hear the music thanks to its sheer volume, which he discards on the counter carelessly as he stands up. He lumbers over to the back wall, and Chaewon looks away from him, heaving a small sigh. 

She’s not used to this shop, the one by Eunbi’s place, though realistically it’s not much different to the one near her own. Dull, flickering lighting that looks like it’s about to give up any second now, a crackling radio placed in one of the corners spluttering out music weakly, a maladour of cheap, reheated fried food enough to make her sick to the stomach. Freshly hungover teenagers behind the counter that would rather be anywhere else on the planet rather than here. 

“Uh, I was told to tell you that we’ve only got international stamps,” the boy drones. “But we’ve got the other type too, which one do you want?”

Chaewon smiles dryly.  _ Fucking pricks _ . “I’ll take a national one, thanks,” 

The boy picks out a stamp at random, tossing it onto the counter before lugging himself with great effort back to his seat. The song blasting from his earphones changes, going from fast-pased rap to what sounds like an old-school girl group, which he rushes to change with a sudden burst of energy, scrambling with his phone frantically and muttering something about a younger sister.

Chaewon hardly even hears him, much less focuses on what’s happening in front of her. 

The boy charges her with a red face, and Chaewon pays, snatching the stamp from the counter and stuffing it into her pocket. She mutters a “Thanks,” as she walks away, the boy offering her another grunt, before the music from his earbuds becomes muted again as he stuffs them into his ears. 

Chaewon steps out of the shop, looking around, and thankfully no one else is in sight. Not that it makes much of a difference, she’s not doing anything out of the ordinary, but anyone watching her at all just makes her nervy. She’d chosen this time on purpose, just about noon, because the Outskirts are practically deserted during these hours; people don’t go out till it’s dark, whether that be for work or for leisure, and it’s not uncommon to catch a few stray wanderers stumbling about the streets in the morning, still drunk from last night’s endeavours. At this time, just about midday, hell, most people are probably still asleep. That’s just the way things go here, bar for the poor souls like the boy in the shop trying to earn their keep.

Chaewon’s said it before, she’s beyond lucky with her position as a detective. Even if it’s landed her in a situation like this one.

Pressing her lips together, she stands in front of the post box. It’s nothing particularly exciting, a faded red in colour and really not all that tall, but it’s like it eyes her up menacingly, like it knows what she’s about to do. The envelope gripped tightly in Chaewon’s hand, by the very edge so she doesn’t accidentally touch… well, anything, suddenly becomes a lot heavier in her grasp, trying to make it’s existence known as if Chaewon hadn’t lost every ounce of sleep she could’ve had last night. 

Luckily for her, the task itself isn’t particularly difficult, or demanding. She just has to… put an envelope in the post. 

Taking in a breath, she uses the post box as leverage as she sticks on the stamp, making sure it’s neatly placed and in the right position, because she’s sure that she wouldn’t be warranted as having done a “good job” if the envelope doesn’t even end up getting sent. Deeming her work satisfactory, she places the envelope in the post box’s mouth, before stilling.

She feels sorry for the wife.

Her husband lied to her. He told her that he was on a business trip, whereas in reality he was losing all of their funds. Chaewon herself doesn’t even know what happened to Junghwa after she left, if they’d wrapped up or continued on, but whatever had happened, she’s going to learn about it through a finger that’ll arrive through the letterbox. How would someone even react to something like that? How  _ do _ you even react? 

Chaewon needs to stop thinking about it. The more she thinks, the more she’s going to psyche herself out, but she can’t stop. 

They could have kids. Shit, this envelope could fall in front of the door in the hallway, and a child could pick it up and open it and-

Chaewon gives her head a sharp jolt, wordlessly telling herself to snap out of it. 

_ “Just as you’re posting the envelope, take a video,” _ Chaewon recalls Yuri’s words from last night, just as she was about to get out of the car. Yuri had handed her a piece of paper, on it scribbled a set of digits, which Chaewon had taken gingerly.  _ “Send it to this number, so we’ve proof. Again, don’t try anything. We’ll find out very quickly whether or not you complied, and I don’t think I need to tell you that Minju’s not the kind of person you want to piss off,” _

Chaewon had added the contact to her phone earlier this morning, mostly to save her time, and she opens it up now with her free hand, choosing the camera option. Wavering slightly, she brings the mouth of the postbox into the camera’s view, and before she can convince herself otherwise, she hits record. Holding her breath, and not daring to make a sound, Chaewon winces as she lets the envelope go, hearing as it lands in the bottom of the postbox with a loud, echoed _ thud.  _ Sure that’s good enough, Chaewon stops recording, and lets out a sigh of relief.

It’s done, it’s over, she can finally breathe.

She doesn’t add any text or anything, just sends the video off as fast as she can. She’s about to stuff her phone back into her pocket, maybe head back into the corner shop and buy a heap of that reheated fried food, when within a split second, her phone lets out a demanding buzz.

Chaewon stiffens up at the feeling of the vibration in her palm, and something chilling settles over her. A lump in her throat, she swallows thickly, and looks down at the screen.

_ Faster than we thought you’d be. _

Chaewon blinks at it, brow stitching into a frown.  _ She _ was the fast one?

Again, the phone buzzes, a new message from the same number displaying on her home screen.

_ Send us your location. Someone will come pick you up. _

Chaewon’s breath stutters, and she leans against the post box, staring at the message in disbelief. No, no no no, not again, she can’t go back in again, not so soon. She’s barely over what happened last night, hell, she’s not over it at _ all _ , there’s no way they can expect her to-

Chaewon exhales again, shaking her head. No, they probably don’t expect her to be over what happened yesterday, and she doesn’t doubt that everyone in that room had picked up on just how disturbed she was. They just don’t care. 

Gritting her teeth, she grips her phone a little tighter. Minju had probably thought that she wouldn’t be able to stand it, the pressure, the sight, the knowing of the fact that they mercilessly carried out acts like this without batting an eyelid. She probably expects her to back out, to say she doesn’t want this anymore. And Chaewon has to prove her wrong.

She has to prove herself. She was given this opportunity, and she can’t back out. 

So, she holds up her phone again, swipes and taps until she’s got her location sent to the number, no clue who’s on the receiving end, and doesn’t bother sending a follow up message, sure she doesn’t need to. No sooner than she’s pressed send, she’s getting a message back almost immediately.

_ Lovely. _

_ Before that happens, we want to know what you’re thinking. _

_ If you want to back out, this is the one chance we’re going to give you. _

Chaewon’s breath catches in her throat at that last one.

_ You can back out, and go on as if none of this ever happened. Telling anyone of what happened is not to even cross your mind. _

She swallows thickly. That’s the entire reasoning behind why she’s doing this.

_ Choose to stay, and that’s final. No going back.  _

_ So, are you in? _

Pressing her lips together, Chaewon surprises herself, honestly. It’s a similar situation to the one before, where Eunbi had asked her if she’d wanted to go ahead with this whole thing in the first place. The answer comes into her head before she even really has to think about it, and even if she thought otherwise, it’s not like she’s got much of a choice. 

Her fingers are flying across the keyboard before she can even process what’s happening.

_ I’m in. _

The reply comes just as fast as the other had.

_ Glad to hear it. _

_ You’re nice and close, you shouldn’t have to wait too long. _

_ I look forward to meeting you. _

Chaewon blinks in surprise. She had just assumed the number was Minju’s, or someone of a similar position, but apparently it’s someone new. And by the sounds of it, they’re not the one who’s picking her up. She waits a couple more moments, before sighing, accepting that that’s really all the information she’s going to be receiving. She types back a dry okay, and pockets the phone, leaning her back against the post box again. 

_ It’s the middle of the day,  _ she thinks to herself, almost like a mental pep talk.  _ No one would be stupid enough to pull any stunts in broad daylight. Things like that happen at night, you don’t have to worry.  _

But then what could she be wanted for?

She kind of hopes the person who picks her up is someone she knows of, even someone like Yena or Chaeyeon, just to provide her with a sense of familiarity. She doesn’t think she can deal with trying to suss out and manage someone new, she’s had enough of a surprise to last her a lifetime.

True to the message’s word, she truly isn’t waiting that long. Only about ten minutes pass, flying by quickly with how engrossed she is in her own thoughts, and then she’s hearing the irregular stutter of an engine from somewhere close by. A car rounds the corner, and at first Chaewon wonders if it’s even the one for her. 

She’d been expecting something like the car Yuri had driven the previous night, sleek and polished and totally beyond her imagination, but this… this car is plainly average, typical of The Outskirts. Dented and scratched and distastefully modded, certainly the recipient of a beating or twenty. Almost like… almost like the kinds of cars she’d seen at the races the night she’d gone to the race.

Chaewon narrows her eyes, as the car pulls up in her direction. The hubcap on one of the front wheels - its gaps are indented, the surface abraded, much like…

Chaewon freezes up. No. No no no _ no _ -

Kim Minju rolls down the window, and tosses Chaewon a warm smile that sits much too prettily on her lips and looks much too kind for someone like her. “Hey,” she says it casually, in a colloquial manner, like they’ve been friends for years. She pushes her dark hair back from her forehead, Chaewon’s eyes catching the movement. “Heard you agreed to come on board?”

At a total loss for words, Chaewon nods her head, a little dumbfounded. She takes it back now, she wouldn’t mind having someone unfamiliar picking her up. “Uh, yeah,”

Minju grins at her, leaning back in her seat. This smile is less affable, something more like what Chaewon’s used to. “You still don’t really know what’s going on, do you?”

Chaewon hesitates. “No…” she forces herself to speak more. “No, but I want to,” it’s not a lie. It’s the full truth, actually.

Minju lets out a laugh, clear and pleasant sounding, placing her hands on the wheel. “I keep saying it, the more you talk, the more I like you,” she tilts her head in the direction of the passenger seat. “Get in. I’ll tell you everything you need to know,”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“You said to me that I ran the street races. That I was in charge,”

Chaewon nods her head along as Minju speaks. “Yeah,”

Minju tilts her head to the side, eyes on the road. “I am in charge, you’re right about that,” she pauses. “But the races? That’s only part of it,”

Chaewon lets out a soft breath of laughter, mainly to keep herself grounded. “You don’t say,”

In her peripherals, she sees one corner of Minju’s lips rise. “The Violeta, where we went last night. It’s a casino, but it’s also a cover up. Run by  _ Heugoni Pa _ ,”

At the mention of those final two words, Chaewon can’t stop herself from tensing up. She’s never heard of it before, but that’s the name of a fucking mob. The fact that she doesn’t recognise it means that it’s something beyond The Outskirts, something beyond her own line of work, which sends a trill through her bones that knocks them together. 

She gathers herself together, forcing herself to speak now, think later. “What, is that some kind of mob or something?”

Minju raises a brow at her amusedly. “You’re awfully relaxed. You were a chicken in a fox’s den last night, totally unaware,”

Steering the question away from herself, Chaewon directs the attention back to Minju. She’s good at this, talking, she can work with this. “Why, is it you who runs it? The Violeta?”

Minju smiles dryly, eyes still trained on the road, and if Chaewon were to take a guess, she’s fully aware of Chaewon’s tactic. “No, not me.  _ Heugoni Pa _ is divided up into subsidiaries. Not one overall leader. They only let us in because Chaeyeon and Yena work there, make them double the amount of money than if they didn’t,” she says, a little smug. “The Violeta is owned by the leader of one of the subsidiaries. Yena and Chaeyeon get them their coin, and they give us a helping hand should we ever need it. Make sense?”

It does. It does, it makes perfect sense, all of it. Maybe Chaewon’s even a little relieved. A part of her had been worried that Minju was directly part of this mob, so that’s some good news she supposes. But the bad news is that she’s still very much affiliated with that mob, and Chaewon doesn’t know how close that affiliation is, and how deep the connections run.

“Do you… do you work outside of The Outskirts? Anywhere other than the Violeta?”

“Us? No,” Minju shakes her head, and Chaewon melts a little further into the seat. Thank god. “They don’t need us for anything like that, they’ve got plenty of people that can do that for them. But no one can win a game of poker quite like Chaeyeon or Yena. They’re insatiable too, they don’t grow tired of it. You’d think they’d grow bored, but it’s like…” she drums her fingernails on the steering wheel, trying to find the right word. “It’s like a hunger. The Violeta are more than happy to accommodate that,”

Chaewon nods slowly, drinking the information in. “So… what else do you do then? Assuming there’s more than just racing and gambling?”

Minju purses her lips together. “Wonyoung and Yuri go running, and collect the protection tax,” she fumbles around inside her pocket, taking out a pack of cigarettes, which she holds out in Chaewon’s direction. “Want one?

Brow furrowed, Chaewon shakes her head, not even having fully registered Minju’s offer. “Running. Running... drugs?”

“Mmh,” Minju hums around the cigarette she places between her teeth. “Cut shit, wouldn’t even fly in the second district, but it flies off the shelves here no matter what’s put in it. But Wonyoung… shit, Wonyoung… she’s so pretty. She’s so fucking pretty she’d never gain suspicion, ever. She could be holding a bloody knife, stood over a dismembered corpse and you’d think she’d just taken the wrong turn on the way home from school,” she shakes her head, like not even she herself can believe it. “It’s mostly parties and shit like that, people gravitate towards them if they need a hit of something,” she shifts the cigarette using her lips so that it juts out at the corner, in Chaewon’s direction, eyes still on the road, and she drops a lighter into Chaewon’s lap. “Light me?”

Uneasily, Chaewon complies, because she really has no choice. She’s never actually done it before, but she lives in The Outskirts, she’s not a complete fool. She cups the flame with one hand, leaning over the centre console awkwardly, and entirely too close to Minju for someone she met just two days ago. It takes her a couple goes, but eventually the flame is licking at the curl of paper, the edges singed a dark grey. She leans back as quick as she can, knowing that Minju had her eyes on her the entire time instead of the road, but chooses to ignore it in favour of asking more questions. She doesn’t care about looking like she’s wanting to know too much, anyone in her position would be naturally this curious. “And… protection tax,” the drugs she knew about, shit, they’re fucking rampant, and probably more rat poison than of the actual drug itself, but protection tax… that’s new to her. She wonders if Eunbi knows about it. 

Minju looks at her for a few moments longer, cigarette dangling from her lips precariously, and then her lips are curving, resting her cheek in her palm. “People outside of the ones that pay us don’t know about it. Would kind of defeat the purpose. Probably someone you know has to pay it,”

“Has anyone… ever not payed it?” 

Minju shakes her head, letting out a sigh, a thin plume of smoke puffing from her lips. “Not yet. I’d bet Yena’s waiting though, she’s weird like that,”

_ Not yet. _

Swallowing, she switches the topic again. “Anything else..? You mentioned someone called Sakura before,”

“Ah, Kkura-unnie,” Minju bobs her head, words slightly muffled around the stick of nicotine. “She’s our tech wiz. Communications, tracking,” she tilts her head. “Maybe a bit of extortion when she’s bored. But also the boring stuff, admin, filing. She’s good at it though. Scary smart. You know that kind of intelligence that’s intimidating? Like you know there’s no way of working around them?”

Chaewon hums. That’s Hyewon’s kind of smart. Silent, but enough to make you break out a cold sweat. 

But also not in the  _ a bit of extortion when she’s bored  _ kind of way _. _ Chaewon really can’t tell if Minju had been joking or not. Decides she doesn’t want to know. 

“That’s Sakura. Do yourself a favour and never lie to her. She’d pick you out like a cat would a rat,”

Chaewon swallows thickly.

_ Off to a great start then. _

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


They don’t drive for too long, at least Chaewon doesn’t think so, she’s not exactly in the right state of mind to be the best judge at the moment. They drive in the opposite direction that Yuri had driven last night, rather in the direction of the next city instead of the direction of the centre. They stop somewhere right before the border, to Chaewon’s relief, nothing but the same stretch of road and barren, dusty planes as far as the eye can see.

They do eventually come to a stop, outside of a small, lone shop, no bigger than a small bungalow. Blinking at it, Chaewon’s brow furrows. The main sign is faded, scratched and just completely unreadable. The windows are boarded up, the exterior colour bleached by the sun to a distasteful pale yellow. Off to the side of the building, is a rusted garage, and it’s that paired with the discoloured signs with pictures of cars and wrenches that lead Chaewon to think that this must’ve been some sort of auto shop at one time. 

“Is this… is this where we’re supposed to be?”

Killing the engine, Minju takes out the keys, and completely ignores her question. “Are you gonna just sit there?”

Scrunching up her nose, Chaewon tentatively unbuckles her seatbelt, clambering out of the car and closing the door behind her. Up close, she can see the way the plaster on the outside of the building is peeling, can hear the shop sign creaking and groaning in protest as the light wind shoves at them. She jogs a bit to catch up with Minju, stuffing her hands into her pockets to shield them from the bitter cold. 

The door opens with even more persistence, the sound of a bell clanging drearily fading as soon as it’s heard, not even a chime. It’s barren, the shelves half stocked, of oil and tools and other necessities for cars that Chaewon can’t recognise. Their footsteps echo eerily as they step inside, Chaewon closing the door gently behind her. There’s a musty smell hanging in the air, like sawdust mixed with something greasy, and she scrunches up her nose in distaste. “This… was not what I was expecting,”

Minju tosses her a grin over her shoulder, making her way towards the cash register, which is cracked and stained with brownish splotches. “That’s the point!” she counters, moving behind the register and bending down out of sight. Chaewon hears a soft clicking noise, followed by a fatigued groan of worn hinges, the sheer sound of it making her screw her eyes shut. She walks over to investigate, leaning over the register to see what Minju’s doing.

She had assumed that she had opened up a cupboard built into the desk, but to her surprise, it’s instead a trap door of sorts. She stares at it, taken aback; like it’s nothing grand or anything like that, but it just once again, hadn’t been something she’d expected it to be. It’s a small door, the wood gnarled and flaked with age, and through it she can see a narrow set of stairs leading into a basement. Soft voices filter through, though they come to a halt once the sound of the door falling to the ground echoes throughout the shop. 

“Minju?”

A voice hollers up, Chaewon thinks she recognises it. Maybe Yena or Chaeyeon.

“Yeah!” Minju shouts back, then turns her attention to Chaewon. She tilts her head in the direction of the stairs, indicating for her to start descending. She holds up the key in her grasp. “You go first, I’ve got to lock up,”

Chaewon presses her lips together, not really keen on the idea, but complying regardless. The smell going down the stairs is the same as it was in the shop, musty, oily, mayhaps a little damper. The further she goes, the louder those voices get, and she’s able to make out what they’re saying.

“Piss off, you’re such a shit bluffer. Like you could not be anymore obvious,”

“You get chatty when you’ve got a shitty hand,”

“I do fucking not, thanks. I’m giving constructive criticism,”

“You’re still talking,”

“That’s because you’re responding to me! That’s how communication works, dipshit,”

“ _ Still _ talking. Maybe shut up, hm?”

“Yeah but see, I can tell you’re worried that I could just be talking on purpose so that _ you _ think that- oh,”

Chaewon tenses up once she rounds the corner, and suddenly, all the voices she’d heard come into view. She stands still, caught off guard, as three pairs of eyes are honed in on her.

The room isn’t that big, in fact it’s rather small, grey walls and hardly any furniture, bar for a wooden table in the middle of the room. Chaeyeon and Yena are sitting at either side of the table, cards in hand, Yuri at the long edge in between them, all of their gazes snapping up to look at her.

Above her, Chaewon can hear Minju beginning her descent down the stairs, and breathes out a quiet sigh of relief. 

Yena leans back in her chair, surveying her like she doesn’t think she’s believing what she’s seeing. She’s dressed casually, they all are, actually, sweats and that same cap atop her head with her hair tied messily at the base of her neck. She purses her lips. “Damn,” she nods her head. “I didn’t think you’d actually do it,”

Yuri gives her a gentle shove. “She means that in the nicest way possible,” she shoots Chaewon an apologetic look, but really, Chaewon wonders if it’s even possible to take that as something complimentary. “You- everything go alright?”

Chaewon nods her head slowly, just as she hears Minju arrive next to her. She takes off her jacket, and indicates for Chaewon to do the same, hanging it up on the end of the banister. “Everything going okay?”

Yuri nods her head. “Yeah, fine, we’re just waiting on Wonyoung to get back. She was gone a while, actually, I think she got hold up or something, but she should be back any second now. She just text me there,”

Minju hums in acknowledgement, and in the meantime, Yena and Chaeyeon erupt into another round of bickering.

“I don’t know what you’re getting distracted for,” Chaeyeon mutters, and Yena lets out a gasp of offence.

“Why are you so hostile? I’m being  _ polite _ ,”

“You’re stalling because your hand is shit,”

“You know fuck all about my hand!”

“Maybe, but I know you. And because I know you, I can tell your hand is shit,”

“You’re not giving me nearly enough credit, Chaeyeonie,”

“I’m just trying to-”

“Oh my god!” this exclamation comes from a third voice, from behind one of the closed doors that leads off into another room, muffled, yet not doing much to hide the aggravation in the tone. “Could you two be any louder?”

Chaewon doesn’t recognise the voice, someone she hasn’t met yet. And… and if Yuri had said that that girl, Wonyoung, was still out, then that must mean that this voice is-

“Kkura-unnie!” Yuri calls out with laughter bubbling in her words, leaning back in her chair and speaking over her shoulder, Chaeyeon and Yena both tensed up like deers caught in headlights. “Come out, we’ve got a guest!”

It takes a moment or two, a bit of rustling, but eventually, the door is opening up. A girl leans herself against the doorframe, still holding onto the door handle to support herself tiredly. Her hair is a shocking pink, long and wavy, caught in between a pair of chunky looking headphones she’s got hung around her neck. 

Her gaze connects with Chaewon’s immediately.

It’s cat-like, eyes wide yet pupils narrowed, and admittedly pretty, framed with a gentle spray of lashes. But it’s piercing, at the same time, and Chaewon feels as though she physically can’t look away from her.

Sakura, that’s her name.

She doesn’t look away, but tilts her chin in Minju’s direction. “This is her then?”

“Yeah,”

Moving away from the doorframe, Sakura swiftly makes her way across the room, Chaewon not knowing what word to put to it other than elegant, and she stops just short of her. Maybe even that little bit too close for comfort. She just keeps staring at her, again in a similar fashion to how a cat would, and slowly, a soft smile graces the pink of her lips. 

“You were right,” it’s directed at Minju, her voice soft and almost disturbingly quiet. “She is  _ very _ pretty,”

Swallowing thickly, and sure that Sakura had heard it, Chaewon shoots Minju a questioning look.

Minju only shrugs, lips curving into something… what, smug? Chaewon’s breath kind of gets caught in her throat, but also…

_ “Don’t be modest about this yeah? You’re fucking pretty, Chaewon. Don’t be modest about it and use it to your advantage,” _

Chaewon doesn’t quite think she’ll be able to utilise something like that just yet, but it’s definitely not information that’s going to go amiss.

Sakura stares at her for a few moments longer, not backing down, and Chaewon’s starting to get the feeling that unnerving her is her intention. It’s not the first time she’s been in a situation like this, and it’s certainly nothing compared to the situation last night, so she holds her ground. 

She doesn’t imagine this would be the sort of place where weakness would be pardoned anyway. It’s difficult, especially when Minju’s words from earlier worm inside her head.  _ Maybe a bit of extortion when she’s bored. _

She’s starting to think that these people are just borderline insane.

Eventually after what feels like forever, Chaeyeon lets out a soft breath of laughter. “You’re gonna freak her out, Saku-chan,”

Chaewon had almost forgotten. Her and Sakura are dating, aren’t they?

Sakura’s lips quirk, and finally she’s looking away, eyes snapping down and Chaewon lets out a silent breath. “I suppose my messages weren’t ominous enough,”

Chaewon stills, reading her carefully. So those mesages were her

Sakura looks back up at her, smiling somewhat normally, but-

Ah.

Her lips are pulled into a gentle smile, but her eyes flare with something almost… hostile.

Chaewon nods her head slowly, getting the message loud and clear.

Sakura doesn’t like her.

Their little moment of conflict ends once Sakura turns away from her, and Yena’s letting out a low whistle. She clicks her tongue, clearly amused by their interaction. “You’re fucking scary, Sakura-unnie,”

Sakura points a finger at her, rounding the table before she leans down and laces her arms around Chaeyeon’s shoulders. “You can flirt with her,” she points at Chaeyeon, this time, who hardly even flinches. “But not me,”

Yena’s lip curls into something like a sneer, returning her gaze to her cards. “Of course you’d think that being called scary would equate to flirting. You need to up your game, Chaeyeon-ah,”

Chaeyeon shakes her head, rubbing at her chin like she’s trying her best not to laugh. “You just never shut up, do you?”

Yena leans back in her seat, hooking one leg over the other and regarding her cards with narrow eyes. She lets out a soft laugh. “But it’s still making you question yourself regardless,”

Chaeyeon looks at her for a moment, like she’s trying to look past her and into her head, to see what she’s thinking. She opens her mouth to respond, looking like she’s got an equally cutting remark on the tip of her tongue, but before she can, a loud creaking sound comes from above them. 

Conversation halts, and everyone looks in the direction of the stairs.

A beat of silence, and then-

“I’m back!”

Chaewon watches, surprised for the nth time, as slow, fond smiles spread on everyone’s faces. 

There’s an excited sound of footsteps bounding down the staircase, sounding like they’re being taken maybe two, even three at a time, and before if the process of elimination is anything to go by, this must be-

Chaewon’s eyes go wide, and she stumbles over her breath.

Oh, Minju hadn’t been exaggerating in the slightest.

Wonyoung isn’t just pretty - she’s gorgeous.It’s in a light, delicate sort of way, the kind where you just sort of look and let out a pitiful sigh. She’s tall - like ridiculously, unfairly tall, practically towering over Minju who’s height Chaewon had thought was unattainable for someone like her. Her hair is long, dark, slightly wavy and falling over her shoulders in glossy tresses, contrasting with the pale, yet warm tones of her skin. Her face is kind looking, lips smiling and eyes glimmering, and it’s difficult for Chaewon to take her eyes off her. She’s young looking, can’t be more than what, sixteen, seventeen? A backpack is hanging from one of her shoulders, not looking particularly full, and a battered skateboard is tucked underneath her arm. Her knees are littered with cuts, legs dotted with small bruises, but they don’t distract from her clothing.

While everyone else is dressed casually, Wonyoung is stylish, jeans and a thick fur coat to shield her from the cold.

She greets the room with a full-cheeked smile, red from the cold outside, taking off her jacket like Minju had done and moving to hang it up.

But, before she can, a gasp is cutting through the silence. 

Chaeown looks to see that Yena has stood up. “So  _ that’s _ where it went,” she takes the skateboard from Wonyoung’s hold, not forcefully, in fact it’s rather in a gentle manner, and Chaewon briefly wonders if these are really the same girls she’d met in The Violeta. “I was looking for it everywhere. What’s it with you and stealing my stuff, hm?”

Wonyoung pouts, drawing her lips together, and it’s quite a comical sight. Yena scolding her, despite being looked down on like that. “It’s more fun, though,” she has a similar way of speaking to Yuri, a bit whiny, a bit petulant. “And I get around faster, I’m sorry,”

Yena puts the skateboard down in favour of hugging Wonyoung, having to stand on her toes to press their cheeks together, muttering something about how it doesn’t really matter.

“Well you wouldn’t think it,” Sakura scoffs from the other side of the room, though like with Yena, she doesn’t actually sound mad. “What took you so long?”

“Oh, leave her alone,” Yena brushes her off, hugging Wonyoung closer to her, which Wonyoung only seems to find absolute delight in, beam wide on her lips. “She’s a teenager, let her be,”

At the table, Yuri laughs. “And she has you wrapped around her little finger. She could do anything and you’d find an excuse for her,”

Chaewon just about catches the wink that Wonyoung throws in Yuri’s direction, grinning playfully, and it’s when Yena pulls away from her to go back to her game that Wonyoung catches sight of Chaewon. Her eyes grow wide, with pure, simple excitement. “Oh, you’re here! I forgot that was today, you’re Chaewon right?” 

Chaewon nods tentatively, this girl’s sheer energy maybe just a bit too much for her to be able to keep with, but she goes along with it. Wonyoung holds out her hand, and gives her another one of those smiles. “I’m Wonyoung,”

_ She could be holding a bloody knife, stood over a dismembered corpse and you’d think she’d just taken the wrong turn on the way home from school. _

Yeah, Chaewon can see it. She’s got a believable sort of face, that childlike aura about her that would make it difficult to even consider her a suspect of a crime, nevermind a convicted culprit. 

She shakes Wonyoung’s hand, and it’s a plainly ordinary affair, though Chaewon does feel a little small, with the way she has to look up at her. Wonyoung, again in that childlike sort of manner, blatantly looks back at her. “Minju-unnie was right,” she has a bubbly way of speaking. She reaches out, and lithe fingertips are barely brushing the short locks of Chaewon’s hair. “You really are pretty,” it’s not said to flatter her, or to butter her up, just plainly honest, like she was speaking the first thing that had come into her mind.

Chaewon splutters, insiticitvely shaking her head and denying it. This time, she refuses to look at Minju, even though she’s fully aware of her eyes on her.

She’d really made an effort to make other people aware of what she thought, this is the second time she’s gotten this in what, like five minutes? Briefly, her mind shifts back to The Violeta last night, on the balcony.

_ What does Minju want? _

Maybe these are the foundations.

Giving in, she tentatively flicks her stare over to Minju, just for a fraction of a second. Her eyes are a little darker, piercing into her in similar fashion to how Sakura’s had done. She shifts where she’s looking straight back to Wonyoung just as fast, but she doesn’t doubt for a single second that Minju saw her.

Chaewon knows, might not know exactly, but she’s beginning to put pieces together. And Minju knows it.

“No, you really are,” Wonyoung is still insisting, bending her knees like she’s trying to get a look at her face from different angles. 

Chaewon can hear Yuri laugh. “You’re staring, Wonyoungie,”

Wonyoung only seems to realise what she’s doing just then, and she immediately straightens up, looking horrified. “Oh, I’m sorry!” she exclaims, Chaewon rushing to assure her that it’s fine, again fully aware of Minju watching the entire thing unfold.

“No no, it’s okay, you’re fine,” her words are punctuated with an awkward laugh.

Minju, thankfully, takes that as an opportunity to intervene. “Wonyoung-ah,” she holds out a hand wordlessly, and Wonyoung seems to understand what she wants.

“Oh, yeah sorry,” she moves away from Chaewon and takes off the bag that had been dangling from one shoulder, handing it over. Minju pauses for a moment, holding it up like she’s surveying its weight, then smiling in a warm manner that Chaewon’s never seen before.

“Nice work,”

At the praise, Wonyoung perks up, a grin stamping itself on her lips again. “Thank you,” she chirrups, before almost skimming across the floor in the direction of the table, over in Yena’s direction, where she crouches down next to her and props her chin up on her shoulder to get a look at her cards.

Side-eyeing Minju, Chaewon sees her surveying the group with a soft smile, before letting out a brisk sigh, and shouldering the bag. “Right, are we good to go then?”

Chaewon blinks at her. She’d expected a little more to it than that. “Is there nothing we have to do here?” she asks.

Minju shakes her head. “No, not really. I had to get this, I suppose-” she hikes the bag up higher on her shoulder. “-but I just wanted to pop in to say hi. You hadn’t met Wonyoung or Sakura before either,” she lets out a snigger, voice dropping to something a bit quieter. “Sakura seems to like you loads,”

Chaewon can’t help but snort, following Minju as she heads back over in the direction of the staircase. “Did I do something, or..?”

Minju shakes her head. “Hm? Oh no, don’t worry about that. She just doesn't trust you yet,” she pauses, and then. “The others probably don’t either, they’re just not as up front as she is,”

Chaewon purses her lips, nodding. It makes sense, she supposes. They’ve never met her before, she doesn’t suppose letting anyone in this easy is something that happens on a regular basis. It took the other detective ages to get in, Chaewon thinks that she herself just happened to get extremely lucky.

Which reminds her-

She sucks in a sharp breath. 

This is everyone Minju had talked about, right here in front of her.

That means that one of these girls… one of them is the other detective sent in before her. She’s in the same room as them right now. 

Before she can dwell on it, Minju’s continuing on. “I knew Wonyoung would like you, though,”

When Chaewon only frowns at her, she smiles.

“She likes pretty things,”

Ah.

Chaewon really should’ve seen that one coming.

She looks away, pressing her lips together and letting out a huff of air through her nose. She opens her mouth to respond, with what she’s not so sure, but before she can, the sound of a hand slamming on the table beats her to it.

Turning around, she sees Yena standing up, her cards face up on the table, a scowl on her lips. Her chair screeches on against the floor, a teeth-watering sound, not all that pleasant with the loud cackle that’s currently spilling from Chaeyeon’s lips.

“I told you!” she exclaims through her laughter. “You get chatty when you’ve a shitty hand!” 

Yena pointedly ignores her, walking in the direction of one of the doors haughtily, stuffing her hands into her pockets. Wonyoung giggles quietly to herself off to the side.

“Oh come on!” Chaeyeon seems to be enjoying her victory, leaning back in her chair. “Don’t be such a bitch about it!” 

No response. Yuri, who seems to be finding the situation just as hilarious as anyone else, heaves herself out of her seat, presumably to go get her. “She’s a literal child,” 

“No wait, hold on,” Sakura holds up a hand to stop her, smiling playfully. She seems to wait, for a beat or two until it’s totally silent, before yelling out. “We could see your cards when you went to hug Wonyoung!”

Behind Chaewon, Minju lets out a soft, prolonged “Ah,”

A moment of silence. And then, a far off “Get fucked, Sakura!”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


They drive back into the middle of The Outskirts, to Chaewon’s relief, somewhere she’s a bit more comfortable with compared to the middle of fucking nowhere. They pull up outside a high-rise building, just as worn-through and discoloured as all the others, probably once something beautiful to look at during it’s prime, but nothing now. They walk through a lobby-like area, void of people, bar for a receptionist at a desk, who greets Minju formally as they walk by. Having to catch up with her after standing still for too long, drinking in her surroundings, Chaewon stuffs her hands into her pockets as they approach a lift. It reminds her a bit of the bar they’d went to the first night- deceptively average looking on the outside, but the receptionist was dressed perhaps that bit too smartly for a place like this, and the lift is just slightly too polished. “What is this place?” she asks, as Minju reaches out and presses the button in front of her.

Minju purses her lips for a moment, looking like she’s thinking about what her response will be. “Can you guess?”

Chaewon blinks at her, slightly taken aback. She too, thinks for a second or two, side-eyeing Minju uneasily. She has a faint idea, but… “If I say… and I’m wrong, I’ll look a little…” she trails off, not quite sure what adjective to put to it, but sure Minju gets what she’s trying to say.

She doesn’t respond to her, for a moment, purposefully leaving her hanging, if Chaewon were to take a guess, and she’s sort of gathered at this stage that it’s something she tends to do quite frequently. She likes creating suspense, must get some sort of kick out of it. Maybe Chaewon could even call it dramatic.

So, she waits, let her play it out, and eventually, she’s digging her hand into her own pocket. She fishes around for a moment or two, before retracting her arm and holding something up.

Chaewon smiles to herself.

The key that Minju had shown her in The Violeta gleams in her hold, and the lift lets out a soft  _ ding _ announcing its arrival. “I said I’d give you a place if you did a good job, hm? I think you pretty much pass the criteria,” she hands the key over to Chaewon without even looking at her, and steps into the elevator once the doors slide open. 

Unable to stop grinning to herself, Chaewon collects herself for a brief second before following her inside. This is good, shit, this is _ progress.  _ So much progress in such a short space of time.

The elevator journey is long, longer than she’d anticipated, and the general rule of thumb in The Outskirts is the higher you go, the nicer it gets. There’s nothing that could be described as nice that could equate to the meaning of the same word in any of the other rings, but the more time they spend going up, the more Chaewon’s stomach begins to twist. 

Even her and Hitomi, who share a flat, would only be about two thirds of the way up their own apartment block, and she can’t even brag by saying that theirs climbs that high. Those above them would earn their money in much more… unconventional ways, ways that Chaewon would really not look into, or think about. The station always left her with enough on her plate, never mind her own fucking neighbours.

They do eventually come to a stop, after a quiet ride up, Chaewon turning the key around in her palm. She doesn’t mind looking too excited, or relieved, because as far as Minju’s aware, she’s never really had a place of her own before. The doors part smoothly, unlike the ones in the station, that stutter and protest like an exhausted toddler, and Chaewon has to muster all of her will to prevent a gasp slipping from the seam of her lips.

It’s a hallway. It’s literally just a fucking hallway, but shit, it looks like it belongs to a hotel. Which is absurd, because there are no fucking hotels in The Outskirts, only shitty motels and inns and B&Bs where you’re not always guaranteed a bed or a breakfast. This place, however, isn’t even a hotel, yet the carpet is soft-looking, and mellowed lights attached to the walls slow faintly as it begins to grow a little darker outside. 

Minju walks out of the elevator like there’s absolutely nothing to behold, and to her there probably isn’t. Chaewon doesn’t see any issue with voicing her confusion, again having to job a little to catch up with her before the elevator doors slide shut behind her. “I didn’t know places like this even existed in The Outskirts,” she says, eyes glued to an expensive, delicate looking ornament placed meticulously on a table, no real reason for it other than for decoration. Shaking her head to regain focus, Chaewon continues on. “Same with that bar. I’ve never seen anything like it, it looks like something you’d expect to see in The Centre,”

Minju lets out a laugh at that, Chaewon not entirely able to identify its reasoning. Maybe a little amused, a little mocking. “You’ve hung around with a lot of people, yes?”

Chaewon blinks. “Yes?” she phrases it like a question, because Minju knows that already. 

But, Minju’s lips only curl, in that way of hers, where it looks like she knows something you don’t. 

“You’ve been hanging around the wrong kind,”

Chaewon hasn’t even noticed that Minju has stopped walking until she realises that she’s ahead of her. She peers at her, confused, not entirely sure what she means, but going along with it.

Minju stares right back at her. “Well?” the girl asks, gesturing towards the door they’ve stopped in front of. “You’ve got the key, not me,”

Chaewon looks at the door like it’s just suddenly appeared out of nowhere, before nodding her head. She fumbles slightly with the lock, struggling just a bit to get the key to twist. She grits her teeth, mentally cursing herself for looking like a fucking idiot, and twists hard, but it doesn’t budge.

She keeps trying, slowly feeling embarrassment creeping up on her, just as Minju lets out another laugh. This time, Chaewon’s able to pinpoint exactly what kind of laughter it is, and to her relief, it’s on the lighthearted side. “Okay okay, I’m sorry,” her tone is something different to before, something a little softer. “That was a little mean of me. Here,”

Chaewon tenses up once she feels Minju come up behind her, and she can’t help her eyes going a little wide when her hands come to rest on top of Chaewon’s own to guide them. Her touch is surprisingly gentle, and instead of turning they key like Chaewon had done, she shifts her hands so that she gives they key an extra push, and then turns it simultaneously. 

Chaewon bites back a dry smile. She’s doing this on purpose.

“There,” she can feel Minju’s breath in her ear, and internally, Chaewon gives herself a clap on the back for not shuddering. 

She doesn’t know what Minju’s doing this for. 

Okay, she’s figured out the easy way that she finds her pretty, that much was made plainly obvious. But you don’t give someone you find pretty a place to stay, you don’t invite them into your fucking gang that seemingly is held together by the people you’re closest to. And like hell Minju hasn’t stumbled across another pretty girl out there that could serve the exact same purpose as Chaewon can. 

_ What does Minju want? _

Chaewon pushes open the door, and really with the amount of times she’s been shocked even in just the past couple of hours, she didn’t think she had it in her to be any more surprised.

But this… this just takes her breath away.

When she’d seen the hallway, her expectations had been increased, she’ll admit that. They’d led her to think that maybe she was heading into something like a hotel room - small, but nicer than anything she was used to. This… this isn’t a flat. This is like a fucking penthouse. 

She’s greeted with a large open room, a kitchen area on the right and a lounge on the left, a staircase at the far end of the room that leads to a second story, gilded with an interior balcony overlooking the first. It’s all white tiles, polished and gleaming like teeth fresh from the dentist, tastefully decorated, and with a light floral scent slowly seeping into her senses.

The second thing she notices is that this living space is very much, well… lived in. 

There’s a jacket haphazardly thrown over one of the leather stools in front of the kitchen island, and there’s an empty champagne flute left on a coffee table next to one of the couches. One of the lights had been left on in one of the rooms upstairs, a soft shade of yellow filtering through the gap between the door and its frame. 

Chaewon steps inside, drinking it all in, Minju following in after her and locking the door behind them. She closes her mouth, not even aware that her lips had even been parted, and swallows.

“Just put your jacket wherever, it doens’t matter all that much,” Minju says, taking her own jacket off and walking over to one of the stools, placing the one she’d just taken off on top of the one that’s already there.

_ Just put your jacket wherever. _

Chaewon stares at her in disbelief. No way. There’s no way. “Minju,”

“Ah, that reminds me,” Minju points a finger at her. “How old are you?” 

Chaewon blinks, totally confused, mind whirring a mile a minute and it’s still not enough. “Twenty-one, I-”

“Can I call you unnie then?” Minju’s smiling. She knows, of course she fucking knows, she’s so fucking-

“Yes,” Chaewon replies quickly, exasperated, hardly even giving the answer any thought. “Minju, is this-”

Minju quirks an eyebrow.

“Is this your place?”

Minju leans against the island, holding onto its edge with both of her hands. She looks all too pleased with herself, shaking her hair away from her eyes. “It is,” she confirms, eyes glimmering. “And you’re going to be staying here with me,” she drums her fingernails against the surface, the sound amplified in the open space. Her lips turn upwards at one corner. “Sakura’s not the only one who can’t trust you yet,” she says it calmly, but there’s a certain edge to her words, something that makes Chaewon’s stomach curl in on itself all over again.

Minju glosses over it with a smile a bit too sweet. She pushes herself away from the island, tapping one of the stools. “Take a seat, hm? I’ll get us something to drink,”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Minju had filled up Chaewon’s glass generously with sparkling champagne, a pale pink in colour, and with her own glass just as much. It had made things a little easier, just like it had that first night in the bar, for Chaewon to grow that slightest bit bolder, the words inside her head finding their way to her lips with a bit more ease.

There’s a spare room in Minju’s apartment that she’s going to be staying in, and it kind of does make sense. It had been a little ridiculous of her, now that she looks back on it, thinking that Minju would give someone close to a stranger that much freedom. She said that it was so that she could monitor her, but Chaewon thinks that there’s a bit more to it than that. Thinks that Minju  _ knows _ that there’s more to it than that. 

Her mind has a nice gentle haze around it, and it’s much too easy for her to say yes when Minju offers to refill her glass, no matter how full it had been originally. It’s too sweet, the aftertaste clinging to her tongue, and makes it easy to keep knocking it back. 

She’s not drunk, she’s careful about that. But last night’s happenings have still left a bitter taste on her tongue, and Minju speaks to her in such a tempting manner that makes it almost impossible for her to not try to smother that bitterness with something a little sweeter.

“Why…” Chaewon’s words are just a tiny bit slow. Her thoughts are just as fluid as they’d usually be, but her mouth seems to have a bit of trouble catching up. It makes sense for her to be curious, shit, anyone would be teeming with questions, so if anything it would be suspicious of her to  _ not _ bombard Minju with them. “Why did you let me in so easy?”

Minju’s swirling her drink around inside her glass, a minute movement of her wrist, a bracelet chiming against the glass stem so easily. “Well let me ask you this,” she throws the question right back at her. “Why did  _ you _ come back?” she juts out a finger from the hand that’s holding onto her glass, to point it at Chaewon. “Because unless I’m mistaken, you were quite… disturbed. Why come back?”

Chaewon purses her lips, looking at her. Her face is quite passive, neutral, but even through her daze Chaewon can’t accept what she’s seeing on the surface. She’s not just asking Chaewon this for the sake of conversation - she wants information.

So, Chaewon leans back in her seat, and lets out a laugh, a little dry. “Why wouldn’t I?”

At that, Minju looks intrigued, leaning forward the slightest bit more. “Why wouldn’t you?” she echoes, prompting her to continue on. 

Chaewon shakes her head, looking down at her glass. “I have- well, had, nowhere really. Sure, you meet some good people, but you also meet some… really shitty people,” she thinks about the other people in her apartment block, and shudders involuntarily. “And being unstable and dependent sucks, you know?” she wets her lips, hyper-aware of the way she’s lying through her teeth, but having rehersed this with Hyewon enough times that it rolls off her tongue smooth as honey. “Yeah, last night… shit I can’t even close my eyes and not see it, scared the shit out of me, but…” she trails off, thinking. Everything beyond the races in The Outskirts isn’t something she’s got scripted, she hadn’t known about, well, everything back then, they couldn’t have. But she doesn’t have to wrack her brains to come up with something, when a reason is so plain and obvious in front of her, so she continues on. 

“Everyone was dressed nicely,”

Minju tilts her head, dark hair falling across one shoulder. Her eyes are boring into her, unblinking like a snake, and her rapt attention gives Chaewon an extra surge of confidence. “Oh?”

Chaewon hums in affirmation. “I first noticed it with Yuri, when I got into the car. She was dressed so… so well, it’s not something I’ve ever seen before. And so were Chaeyeon, and Yena, and you, and-” she pauses again, gathering her thoughts, and then continuing on. “And maybe I’ve become a little greedier,”

Minju’s gaze darkens.

“Maybe I’m kind of sick of slumming it,”

Minju just keeps staring at her in that serpentine manner, before sitting up a little straighter, pushing her hair back from her forehead. Chaewon hadn’t noticed before, but she’s only just seeing now that it’s on the verge of a total black out outside. The guady, saturated neon lights signature of The Outskirts teem in through the windows, muted because of how high up they are, but still finding their way onto Minju’s skin. 

“And does that greed…” Minju pauses, in that suspenseful manner of hers, before continuing on. “Does that greed overcome doing things that you’d be against? Can you stomach that?”

Chaewon swallows. The atmosphere between them has thickened, become a little more tense. She’s not too sure when exactly it happened, but she’s more than aware of it now, beginning to feel a little hot. Maybe Minju’s a little closer again.

She really doens’t see any point in lying about this, not with the amount of lies she’s told already. Verbally, she can keep this up, but if she were to physically carry anything out at this stage she doesn’t think she’d be able. “Now? Maybe not yet,” she feels the need to speak a little quieter, becoming aware of just how void of noise the flat is. “But…” she worries at her lower lip. “But I think I could learn,”

Minju nods her head slowly, and downs a mouthful of her drink thoughtfully, finally pulling her gaze away from Chaewon to look out the window. Those neon colours become wrapped in her iris. When she speaks, her voice too, has dropped to something quieter. She speaks through a breath of laughter.

“I haven’t let you in yet,”

Chaewon clears her throat, frowning. “What?”

Minju hooks one leg over the other, propping one elbow up on the armrest. “You’re staying here. With me. I’m having eyes on you every second of the day,” her grin is dry, thin. “Like I said, I don’t trust you,”

At the words  _ every second of the day _ , a lump forms in Chaewon’s throat, but she keeps a cool exterior. “Fair enough,” she nods her head slowly, because realistically, it is. “But even so…” maybe it’s the alcohol, but she’s not satisfied with just that answer, because she knows there's more to it than that.

Maybe she just wants to hear Minju say it.

“You could have just turned me down. By the looks of things you’re not in need of any extra assistance,”

Minju’s eyes return to her, in that sharp, unblinking manner. 

“Why?”

Minju doesn’t reply for a moment or two, like she’s mulling over her thoughts, or perhaps the sweet tasting champagne is beginning to take a toll on her too. She leans back over the island again, leans closer, and rests her chin in her palm. There’s a gleam to her eyes, and it’s not the neons spilling in from outside.

“You heard the others,” even quieter still, her voice. “You’re a pretty thing,”

Chaewon bites down on her tongue, hard, in efforts to keep her face straight. She doesn’t know what it is, maybe it’s different coming from someone like Minju, and even though Chaewon knows this entire time she’s been smearing the flattery on her like butter, she can’t help the way that it strokes at her ego. 

She simply tilts her head. “And?”

A sound comes from somewhere in Minju’s throat, something like a laugh Chaewon thinks, except her mouth is kept shut. “Pretty and? What, you want me to go on?”

“No,” Chaewon waves a hand at her lazily, knowing that Minju knew that’s not what she’d meant. “That can’t be your only reason. If that’s even a valid reason at all,”

Minju shakes her head, takes another sip of her drink, speaking just after she swallows. “That’s another thing,” she says, setting the glass down on the countertop. “I’ve said it before, the more you talk, the more I like you,” again, she takes a pause. “Like, you’re terrified right now, aren’t you?”

Chaewon is unable to stop herself from flinching, at that last part.

_ She’s good. _

She doesn’t reply, letting Minju continue on.

“You’re terrified right now, but you’re doing a damn good job at hiding it. You were terrified last night, scared fucking shitless, but you came back,” she smiles again, gaze hooded and breath breaking on Chaewon’s face. “You want this,”

Chaewon’s eyes dart all over her face, not even aware that she’s holding her breath until her lungs begin to burn in protest. Her throat runs dry, tongue suddenly heavy in her mouth.

Shit, Minju’s one to fucking talk.

She’s been pushing it to the back of her mind ever since she accepted this operation in the first place, focusing on the task at hand and that alone. But fuck, it’s so easy now, with that light cloud hung over her mind, to just allow her eyes to wander over her face without fear of consequence.

Minju is fucking gorgeous. And it’s becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“This is where you’ll sleep,” Minju pushes open one of the doors on the second story, allowing Chaewon to have a look inside. It looks as though it’s a spare room, not excessively decorated like downstairs seem to be, yet stylish nonetheless, with a monochromatic colour scheme and a neatly made bed. Chaewon steps inside slowly, looking around. It’s about fifty times nicer than her own bedroom in her flat with Hitomi, certainly not as cramped and not nearly as messy.

“I know you don’t have any stuff with you, but you won’t be needing any of it anymore,”

Chaewon turns around to look at her at that, sees her leaned against the doorframe. She gives her a funny look, confused. “What do you mean?”

Minju laughs softly again. “You’re going to be with us for the timebeing. You said it yourself, everyone in The Violeta was dressed… nicely. I’m lead to believe you don’t have anything of the sort,”

Chaewon presses her lips together, shaking her head slowly. “No. No, I don’t,”

“Good,” Minju says with a sense of finality. “Then we’ll go shopping tomorrow,” 

Chaewon’s eyes widen at that, and through the haze of her tipsiness she doens’t register the way she splutters. “Shopping?” she asks. “I don’t, I mean, I can’t pay for something-”

“Chaewon,” Minju reaches out, gently places a hand on her shoulder, making her look at her. “You don’t need to worry about something like that,” her eyes gleam. “Money is a trivial little thing,” 

Chaewon’s mouth runs a little dry, and aimlessly, she nods her head along with what Minju says, slowly, trying to take it in. “Yeah. Yeah, that’s- okay. Yeah,” 

Minju gives her a knowing look. She takes her hand off her shoulder, but lets her fingertips linger as they brush against the top of her arm, Chaewon hyper-aware of the feeling. But, as soon as it’s there, it’s gone, and Minju is stuffing a hand back into her pocket. “I’ll be out in the morning, I’ve got some errands to run, but I shouldn’t be too long. You’ll be here alone while I’m gone,” that’s what she says on the surface, but the warning in her words is clear as day.

_ Don’t try anything. _

Even though she can’t think completely fluidly, Chaewon understands. She nods her head again, repeats another “yeah,”

She kind of wants Minju to leave now, her head is becoming more and more muddled as exhaustion begins to overcome her, she’s tired, and the food Minju had ordered in for them to eat as they’d continued talking had only made her drowsier. 

Minju stands there, for a few moments longer, like she knows exactly what Chaewon’s thinking. And then, she’s holding out a hand. “Can I have your phone?”

Chaewon’s heart does a backflip at the sudden question. She stares at her, maybe for a bit longer than intentional, and tells herself to calm down. She’s gone through her phone, as has Hyewon, meticulously the both of them, ridding it of anything that could tie her to the station, but… still. There could always be something, something that slipped beneath their noses, something they didn’t catch that Minju could easily see. It’s unlikely, but the question still erupts a swarm of butterflies inside her stomach. 

Fumbling around with her back pocket, Chaewon produces her phone. It’s old, certainly many a model behind the latest, with a cracked screen and a grubby case. She’s never really felt much of a need for one more up-to-date, not that they’re all that common in The Outskirts anyway, but now, seeing it amidst the opulence of Minju’s flat, it looks frighteningly out of place.

She unlocks it, not bothering to stall, and hands it over, Minju pursing her lips, pleased-looking. 

“Well that was easy,” she murmurs, more to herself and to Chaewon, taking it into her hands. 

Chaewon shrugs, hoping Minju can’t hear the way her heart is thundering against her ribcage. “What’s the worst you could see, really,” she forces herself to get the words out casually. 

Minju turns the phone around in her hold, assessing it at different angles. She lets out a short hum to herself, before holding it so that the screen faces her. Chaewon can’t see what she’s doing, which only heightens her anxiety, only able to hear the soft  _ clacking  _ sound of Minju’s nails tapping against the screen occasionally.

She lets out an internal sigh of relief when Minju hands her her phone back relatively quickly, even more relieved once she sees that it’s open on her contacts. 

“I added my number,” Minju says, pointing. “I’ll message you when I’m coming back, if there’s anything you need to get from wherever you were before, then that’s the time to do it,” her eyes flick down to her phone again. “We’ll get you a new phone too. That one’s too old,”

When Chaewon opens up her mouth to protest, Minju holds up a finger to stop her. “Remember,” her tone is firm, yet a little smug. “From now on, money is trivial,” her grin is thin, in that same, snakelike manner. “Trust me, I know it well,”

Chaewon nods dumbly, shutting her mouth. 

Finally, Minju takes a step back from her doorframe. “There should be a toothbrush and pyjamas and stuff in the en suite,” she tilts her head to the left, and when Chaewon looks in that direction, she sees a door leading to what must be another bathroom. “So you should be fine,”

Chaewon can’t stop herself from nodding. She really should’ve been more careful with the amount she’d drank. “Yeah. Thank you,”

Minju begins to walk away from the door, knowing smile paying on her lips. “Night then,”

Chaewon gives her head a sharp jolt, snapping herself out of it. “Yes. Yeah. Thank you, again. And you too, night,”

Minju gives her a nod of her own, before she’s turning away and walking down the hallway, closing the door behind her. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


When Chaewon wakes up, her back pressed against the cold of the wooden floorboards and her head throbbing like someone’s whacking a baseball bat against her temples, the first word that very appropriately comes into her head is  _ shit.  _

Groaning softly to herself, she raises her head, rubbing at it with her jaw clenched, to see that she’s sprawled on the floor, probably having fallen out of the bed at sometime during the night. She manages to force herself into a sitting position, and notices that she’d managed to drag half of the duvet down with her, its corner wedged beneath her head to provide her at least some sort of comfort. 

She just sits there for a moment, contemplative, and honestly can’t stop herself from letting out a croaky laugh. 

She’s sitting on the floor of the spare bedroom of the leader of possibly the largest street gang in the ring, because she fucking  _ fell out of the bed,  _ hungover from just a couple of drinks. Like shit, no less than a week ago her biggest worry was that Hitomi and her weren’t talking. Now her sleep is so disrupted she’s falling out of bed with how much of a fuss she’s kicking up. She doesn’t remember much, but thinking about it now, she does have vague recollections of intermittently waking up last night, at random intervals, just dark, blurred snippets that fade from her memory the more she tries to think about them. 

She manages to haul herself off the floor eventually, returning the duvet to its rightful place on the bed before padding downstairs, yawning and ruffling her hair as she goes. It’s strange, she thinks, stepping out of the room and having a view of practically the entire apartment because of the balcony is a strange sight she thinks, in her own flat she steps out of her room and she’s practically nose to nose with Hitomi’s door. 

She heads down to the kitchen, not really too sure what she is and isn’t supposed to do, but decides it’s nothing inhumane to have a drink of water to somewhat quell the rager of a party her head is throwing right now. 

She comes to a stop at the island, something unusual catching her eye.

A glass of water, tall, is placed on its surface, and next to it, two small painkillers. 

Chaewon looks around, like she’ll see something in the apartment that’ll give her an answer, before looking back to the glass again.

It looks as though Minju had left these out for her. 

Frowning to herself, she pulls her phone out of her pocket, and unlocks it. There’s a message from Minju, one that she must’ve missed since her phone was on silent. 

_ I left out a drink and some painkillers, take them if you need _

_ Help yourself to food or whatever idrm _

Swallowing, she pockets her phone again, and eyes the pills suspiciously. 

They’re probably fine. But, then again, it doesn’t hurt to be careful. Picking one up, she breaks it in half, tentatively touching the broken surface to her tongue and swirling what fraction of the powdery substance she’d picked up around inside her mouth. When she doesn’’t feel any sort of immediate effect, and rather tasting that familiar taste that painkillers have, she deems it safe. 

Along with a couple gulps of water, she swallows them both, then finishes off the glass. She hoists herself up onto the same stool she’d sat on last night, and forces herself to refill the glass, knowing that the water will help her in the long run.

She sits there for a short while, she’s too dreary to really pay attention to the time, just nursing her glass of water and taking the occasional sip.

She thinks she’s just starting to wake up, just about coming back to reality, when a sudden noise causes her to give a start.

The noise comes from the door, sounding awfully similar to the way the keys had last night when Minju had showed her the right way to unlock the door. But… hadn’t Minju told her that she’d message her when she was getting back? It’s still so early, and the message wasn’t sent that long ago, surely she wouldn’t be back so soon.

Unsure of what to do, frozen to the spot and totally panicking, Chaewon stays still in her seat, glass held so tightly in her grasp she could shatter it if it weren’t so thick.

She watches as the door handle is slowly pushed down, heart making its way into her mouth and rest heavily in her mouth, stomach swooping like she’s on the dip of a rollercoaster. 

It drags on for too long, perhaps its just herself psyching herself out, but the door handle is pushed down awfully slow. And then, all at once like time has sped up, the door is being thrown open. 

Chaewon stares.

Wonyoung is stood in the doorway, the grin that Chaewon just about catches on her lips falling within an instance. At the sight of her, Chaewon immediately feels relief wash over her. She’s been through one too many surprises these past few days, so Wonoung standing there instead of someone she doesn’t know makes her breath out a soft, thankful sigh.

Wonyoung, however, doesn’t seem to be in the same boat. She lets out a whine, facepalming. “I’ve been caught!” she announces, giving her temple a soft knock with her fist. “I totally forgot you were here with unnie now too,” she closes the door behind her, locking it, and then she’s pointing a finger at her. “You can’t tell her that I was here, alright?”

Chaewon blinks at her, completely and utterly confused. “Caught- what?”

Wonyoung walks briskly over to the kitchen area, discarding herself of her jacket and running her hands through her hair. She’s dressed well today too; a skirt and a blazer and a red hairband bold against her dark locks of hair. “Has she been nice to you? Minju-unnie? Don’t mind her if she’s not, she thinks she’s more intimidating than she actually is,”

“She’s uh, she’s been fine,” Chaewon replies, still feeling completely out of the loop, watching as Wonyoung flurries about the kitchen, going to the fridge to produce a carton of juice. 

She hears her let out a gasp, the sound of it childish. “ _ And  _ she’s been on the drink,” she clicks her tongue, speaking about the bottle of champagne that her and Minju had worked their way through last night. “She’s so strange you know,” she pouts, turning back to face Chaewon, retreiving a glass from one of the cupboards built into the islands. She seems to know her way around the kitchen well. She also seems to have no issue with talking to Chaewon as if they’ve known each other for years, and  _ not  _ like she’d just showed up at Minju’s flat totally unannounced while thinking that no one else would be there.

Hadn’t she done the same to Yuri? Showed up at her place while no one was home in search of what, was it ramen?

“Minju-unnie,” Wonyoung continues on, tongue pinched between her teeth in concentration as she pours juice into the glass. “She’ll let me walk around with hundreds of thousands of won in a bag, but she won’t let me have any of her champagne,”

Chaewon chokes on her water, coughing and placing a hand to her chest, eyes wide and staring at Wonyoung in front of her, who seems to have deemed her teeming glass of juice a satisfactory amount. “What?”

“I know right?” Wonyoung exclaims, not bothering to put the juice back before she takes a sip. “Her morals are totally all over the place,”

That’s really not what Chaewon had meant, and she’s not too sure if Wonyoung knows that or not. Wonyoung is a… character, she’ll say, not the kind Chaewon had anticipated she’d come across. Again, she’s so pretty, in an effortless manner, like she’s not really trying all that hard. Sure, she’s dressed nicely, but nice clothes can only get you so far. She’s bubbly, and she’s got energy, that much is clear to just about anyone, and it makes Chaewon wonder how she ended up doing things like this. 

She tenses up, gripping her cup a little tighter. 

Or, she could be the detective that was sent in before her. Shit, it’s entirely possible, work in The Outskirts is hard to get, they’ve started taking in kids as young as fifteen to start their training. And Wonyoung must be what, sixteen, seventeen? She could’ve passed that at this stage, it wouldn’t be anything out of the ordinary. 

She shakes her head. She can’t focus too much on it, Hitomi and Eunbi were right, it’s too distracting. She can’t be so apprehensive of everyone. 

“Are you alright?” Wonyoung asks her all of a sudden. Her voice is sweet too, she’s like the human embodiment of a sugar rush. 

“Oh. Yeah, sorry,” Chaewon laughs it off, trying to regain her composure. “I just… didn’t expect to see you, is all. You took me by surprise,”

Wonyoung’s lips draw together into a red-lipped pout, and she rests an elbow on the island, and her chin in her palm. “I’m sorry,” she apologises. “I always kind of drift in and out of everyone’s places whenever. Yuri told me you heard our phone call, a bit embarrassing,” her cheeks go a little red, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, revealing a large, sparkling earring. At the sight of it, Chaewon notices that she’s wearing lots of it, jewellery. Her fingers glitter with rings, bracelets clang from where they dangle from her wrists, and a thin chain hangs from her neck and rests against her sternum. 

“But it just totally slipped my mind that you’d be here today, I’m sorry. And Minju told me and everything, you know when you know two pieces of information but you just don’t join the dots? Yeah,” she rambles, and she’s done her juice already, setting the empty glass on the countertop with finality. “Do you like mint chocolate?” 

This girl really is bizarre. 

Not even sure she’d heard her correctly. “Sorry?”

“Mint chocolate ice cream,” Wonyoung clarifies. “Do you like it?”

It’s totally random, but, Chaewon just has to admit, she’s a bit of an avid fan. “Yeah. A lot actually,” 

At that, Wonyoung’s eyes go wide, and she places her palms on the countertop, standing on her toes. “Wait- really?”

Chaewon can’t help but laugh. It’s a little easier around her, she’s so spry that it’s almost like Chaewon has no choice other than to get comfortable. “Yeah. I know not many other people do,”

Wonyoung lets out a groan, palming at her forehead again. “I know!” She exclaims, clearly very passionate about the topic. “The others don’t like it at all - Yena-unnie absolutely  _ hates  _ it,” she speaks incredulously, like she can’t believe it, and to be fair Chaewon’s with her on that one. 

“I’ve always thought it was delicious,” her tone comes out more relaxed than she’d anticipated, maybe because she doesn’t have to try as hard. It’s good anyway, this, starting off on the good foot with something mutual. And again, something that Wonyoung seems to care about quite a lot. “I don’t get how you couldn’t. People who say it tastes like toothpaste…” she shakes her head. “I don’t see it,” 

“Oh my god,  _ thank you,”  _ Wonyoung throws her hands up into the air, and Chaewon thinks she’s hit the nail on the head with that one. “It’s totally different. If it tasted like toothpaste, they’d call it toothpaste flavour,” she pushes herself away from the island, and points towards one of the cupboards next to the stove. “Would you mind taking out two bowls?”

Chaewon eyes her suspiciously. “It’s not for…” she trails off, the rest of her sentence implied. 

Wonyoung grins at her toothily. “I’ve got juice at my own place, I didn’t come all the way here just for that. But for mint chocolate? I would,” yeah, this girl is out of her mind. “You haven’t eaten breakfast yet, have you?” 

Chaewon laughs disbelievingly. “No, but-”

“Cool!” Wonyoung cuts across her brightly, and slides over in the direction of the freezer, crouching down and opening it up. “You can have some with me then. I want to know more about you too,” she looks up, and tosses her a wink, placing a finger to her lips. “I’ll take the blame. Minju-unnie can’t stay mad at me for long,” 

She turns back to the freezer, and Chaewon regards her with a range of emotions. 

Well, she supposes it’s not the craziest thing she’s seen recently,  _ and  _ all this talk of her favourite flavour has made her start to crave it a little. Deciding that there are much,  _ much  _ worse ways for her to be starting her day, Chaewon smiles and shakes her head, getting off her stool in search of two bowls. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


“So why did you decide to join?” Wonyoung says with her spoon still in her mouth, looking up at Chaewon before direcitng her attention back to her bowl. “Minju said that you used to move around a lot,”

“Mmh,” Chaewon nods around her own spoon, swallowing before speaking. It had been a bit of a shock to the system, ice cream so early in the morning, but she’s gotten pleasantly used to it. It’s not anything she can say she’s done before, which seems to be a recurring pattern for her here. “I thought you were just a racing group at first. I was in need of some stability, and this looked cool,”

Wonyoung nods her head along with what she’s saying. “Most people do,” she adds on. “Just means we’re doing a pretty good job,” she grins, before taking another bite. “Go on?”

“So I asked Minju about it, and she said she’d give me a shot, so we went to The Violeta, and uh…” she swallows. “Yeah,”

Wonyoung gives her a look, dabbing at the corner of her lips with a piece of kitchen tissue. “ _ Yeah _ ,” she echoes, exaggerated, her eyes holding a knowing twinkle to them.

Chaewon lets out a weak laugh, just because she’s not all too sure how else she’s supposed to contribute to the conversation. “And uh… even though it’s not what I had expected it to be…” she trails off, resisting the urge to laugh again. Definitely not what she had expected it to be. “I want independence. And stability. That and… well. The pay looks like it’s good,”

Wonyoung nods her head along. “You’re not wrong,” she responds. “It’s very good. The work is tough depending on your attitude. But we’re like a team, it makes it easier. There’s…” she pauses, she looks like she’s trying to find the right words. “There’s a lot of trust,” she points her spoon lazily in Chaewon’s direction, and her smile turns from something bright to thin lipped and dry. “We don’t trust you yet,”

Chaewon rests her chin in her palm, elbow propped up on the table. “Minju made that clear to me. But I get it, it makes sense,” she breathes out a huff of air through her nose. “Sakura, too,”

Wonyoung laughs at that. “Sakura-unnie’s lovely,” she replies. “Once you get to know her. She’s very no-nonsense, she doesn’t really see the point in putting up a front. She doesn’t know you, and you’re in her space,” she finishes off her last bite, melted mint green residue sticking to the bottom of the bowl. “She’ll probably open up to you eventually, once she gets to know you. She’s… protective. Careful,” she stands up, picking up her bowl and tilting her head in the direction of the obnoxiously sized tub of ice cream she’d left open by the freezer. “Want some more?”

  
  
  
  
  


They start to clean up hastily once Minju texts Chaewon that she’s on the way home, washing the bowls and the spoons by hand, putting the juice back in the fridge and the tub back in the freezer. Wonyoung tackles a small clump of ice cream that had somehow fallen to the floor, mumbling something about her clumsiness as Chaewon cleans up the last bowl. She throws her blazer back over her shoulders once she’s done, hastily slipping back on her shoes. 

She doesn’t look like someone out of The Outskirts at all, then again she supposes none of them really do. She looks like she should be working even as far in as one of the middle rings, maybe even the third. It’s her face that helps her cause, really, Chaewon honestly thinks that she could’ve snagged herself some high-end modelling contract instead of… this. Again, she finds herself wondering how she ended up here, but pushes it to the back of her mind.

“I’ll tell Minju about it, don’t worry. I’ll just say I bullied you into it,” Wonyoung waves a hand at her, as she fishes her keys out of her pocket. “So you put up a real fight, alright?” Wonyoung asks her with a knowing smile, that same twinkle to her eyes. 

Chaewon raises an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

Wonyoung gives her a firm hum of affirmation. “Positive. I told you, it’s impossible for Minju-unnie to stay mad at me,” she opens up the door, stepping out in the hallway. “Well, it was really nice talking to you. Oh! Did unnie tell you, actually?”

Chaewon’s brow stitches. “Tell me what…?”

“I think she plans for you to come out with me some time soon, just to see what it’s like. You know The Outskirts well, don’t you? It shouldn’t be much of a challenge for you,”

Chaewon’s eyelids peel back at that, and she finds her stomach swooping again. “Going out with you… like, running?”

Wonyoung,  _ thankfully,  _ shakes her head. “No, just the tax. It’s a much nicer affair,” she frowns. “Except when someone tries not to pay. That’s never fun,” she smiles a little sheepishly. “It’s the new people, I suppose I don’t look very threatening. But they come around  _ very  _ quickly,” as quick as that, her tone shifts to something darker, alluding to something Chaewon’s not all too sure she wants to know about. 

And, then Wonyoung’s shifting back to the usual, bright way she’s been the entire time she’s been here, giving her head a little shake, and her lips curving into a soft smile. “But, I shouldn’t spoil too much. Minju will probably explain more to you,” at that moment her phone lets out a soft  _ ding, _ and she takes it out of her pocket, examining whatever notificiation had popped up on her home screen. “Ah,” she nods to herself, unlocking it and typing out a quick response. “Yuri-unnie’s nagging me to hurry,” she explains, hitting send and pocketing it. “Well, yeah! It was nice getting to know you. Let’s have mint chocolate again sometime, hm?”

“Uh, yeah,” it’s not like Chaewon can really turn her down. And yes, she admittedly likes mint chocolate to turn her down regardless. Maybe just not as breakfast. “Sure,”

“Cool,” Wonyoung beams, beginning to walk away. “See you later, unnie!”

Chaewon gives her a small wave until Wonyoung’s disappeared around the corner, closing the door and locking it again. She can’t help but smile to herself - Wonyoung is a likeable sort of character. Vibrant, lively. 

Chaewon’s smile trembles a little. 

She also looks as though she’ll be the character that Chaewon will be able to get information out of the easiest.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Seeing the second ring at night is one thing, but seeing it during the day is an entirely different story. 

Minju drives them both out even further than Yuri had, and the more they drive, the more out of Chaewon feels. She drives them out to a shopping centre; it’s nothing massive, but it’s still enough to snatch the breath right out of Minju’s lungs. All glass ceilings and display windows with chicly dressed mannequins, highlighted by tasteful lighting and Chaewon just can’t stop  _ staring.  _

Now, Chaewon is looking at herself in a mirror, eyes glued to her reflection. She’s never seen herself like this before, holding her hair back from her face, lips parted in shock. It’s just a dress, she’s got a few of them back at her place, none of them very worn through, but this… this is like looking at a whole new person. 

The dress she’s trying on is flashy, like most of the others that are on display in this shop they’re in. Bright lighting lines the walls of the place, a consistent colour scheme of warm creams and dark browns decorating its interior. The assistant had fawned over them the moment they’d stepped inside, complimenting Chaewon’s hair, how it framed her face, how it’d go  _ perfectly _ with this jacket-

Minju had politely yet firmly made it clear that they were fine on their own, and had made her way about the place without a bother at all. Chaewon followed her around, still in total awe, unable to stop staring at the _ lavishness _ of it all. 

Now, she’s in the fitting room, and that awe is directed at... herself. Like she’d said, the dress is flashy, definitely evening wear, silver and sparkly and totally unlike anything she’s owned before. It dips at one of her shoulders, exposing the jut of her collarbones, and she can’t help but brush her fingertips over them, entranced.

She looks… shit, she looks  _ good. _

There’s a knock on the door, and Chaewon flinches, snapping out of it. “Can I come in?” Minju’s voice is a little muffled through the door.

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, sure,” Chaewon curses herself for stumbling over her sentence, and Minju opens the door.

And she just… stands there. 

Looking up, Chaewon can just catch sight of Minju in the reflection, over her shoulder. She’s still holding onto the door, the other hand resting on the frame, and her eyes are on Chaewon.

It’s that same movement again, one that causes Chaeown to shudder. Eyes drag down, and then flick back up again. 

Minju is fully aware.

She locks eyes with her, through the reflection, and tilts her head. “Do you like it?” she asks, voice level.

Slowly, Chaewon nods her head. “Yeah,” a little shaky. “Yeah, a lot, actually. I’ve never… seen myself like this before,”

Minju hums, nodding her head like she understands. “And what do you think? Do you like yourself like this? It’s a change,”

Chaewon doesn’t lie, she doesn’t need to. She shifts where she’s looking back to her own reflection, and that strange sensation overcomes her again. “Yeah,” she responds, voice light sounding, and she sees Minju’s lips thin into a smile in her peripherals. 

“I’d agree,” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Chaewon gives it a couple more days. She doesn’t do much in those few days, she goes to the autoshop, and true to Wonyoung’s word, Minju explains to her her plans for her to help her collect the tax. She bides her time, not in any rush, before finding the perfect opportunity to slip out of the flat when Minju’s not there. 

She doesn’t go anywhere near the flat, not wanting anyone who’s familiar with Minju to recognise her, instead choosing a shop that’s a fair distance away, and purchasing another disposable phone. The other one had been left at Eunbi’s flat, and with Wonyoung taking up most of her morning that day, she’d never gotten the chance to go collect anything. Not that she really needed to, it hadn’t bothered her - she’d told Minju that the people she was staying with had more than likely fucked off at that stage, and with them, all of her stuff. She’d bought it, seemingly, and after they went shopping Chaewon hadn’t given it much thought.

She bought the phone from a middle-aged man, scruffy looking and sat behind the counter in a chair that creaks in protest each time he shifts his weight. He smokes a cigarette as he scans it, charging her with a gruff, and Chaewon quickly thanks him, heading back outside. 

It’s early in the morning, but not too early, everyone should be working in the station right about now. She punches in Eunbi’s number hastily, and holds it up to her ear, waiting.

It takes practically no time at all, and soon, Eunbi’s voice is crackling in her ear. “Hello?”

“Eunbi-unnie, it’s Chaewon,”

“Oh, I hoped it was. How are you, are you okay?” It’s a general phrase, but Eunbi’s words hold a bit more weight to them.

“I’m good, unnie,” Chaewon rubs at her arm with her free hand, the morning cold biting. “I’m doing much better. And things are going well,”

Eunbi makes a noise of interest. “Tell me then. Just keep talking, tell me everything,” 

So Chaewon does. She goes on about how they’re situated in a small autoshop, just before the border, mainly in the basement that she has yet to explore properly. Eunbi gives her a reaction when she tells her that she’s staying in the same place as Minju, but she tells her a little shakenly to continue on. She tells her about The Violeta, how it’s a cover up, and how Minju’s group is connected. How Minju’s group themselves have a cover up, the races, and all the other things they partake in alongside them. That Minju plans for her to go along with Wonyoung to collect the protection tax. She talks for what must be ages, but she keeps an eye on the time, not wanting to be caught out. 

“You said… you said you met people at this shop,” Eunbi says, and Chaewon hums in affirmation. “Can you-” she cuts herself off with a sigh, like it’s not easy for her to ask. “Can you give me names, Chaewon-ah?”

Ah. 

She wants to know if the previous detective is still there. 

“Yeah. Yeah sure,” Chaewon complies, thinking.

“Tell me what they’re like, what they do,”

“Yeah, sure,” Chaewon nods her head even though Eunbi can’t see her. “Well, first there’s Yena. Choi Yena,” she’s the first one that comes to her mind. “She works in The Violeta, but she also partakes in the races. She’s really good at card games, I think there’s a growing gambling ring here in The Outskirts that they’re growing? She’d be involved in that, she’s…” she laughs dryly. “She’s scary as fuck,” 

Eunbi doesn’t give her any response, silently prompting her to keep talking. She really isn’t going to give Chaewon any sort of inkling. 

“There’s Jo Yuri,” from Yena, Yuri naturally follows. “She does running and tax too, but less so, because she helps out at the races. She doesn’t race, but she was the one who asked me for the code. Under normal circumstances she’s fine, I guess, but even on the way home from The Violeta, she was all business. Maybe that’s scarier?” she thinks aloud, mind on The Violeta now. “Minju said that she’s scarier than Chaeyeon and Yena combined. Chaeyeon works there with Yena, Lee Chaeyeon I think,” she adds on once she realised that she hadn’t explained Chaeyeon to Eunbi yet. “Yena’s kind of unpredictable, like kind of… excentric? Is that the right word? Chaeyeon is calmer, she doesn’t get as worked up as she does. She’s in gambling too, not racing though. Her girlfriend is Sakura, she works in admin. Tech wiz, I think that’s how Minju put it,” she can’t help the disdain that stains her words. “She already doens’t like me. Everyone else says it’s because of trust issues, or something like that. She seems fine with everyone else, but she’s hostile as all hell with me. It’s… unnerving,”

Again, Eunbi keeps quiet, so Chaewon just continues on.

“And then… oh yeah sorry, Jang Wonyoung. She’s the youngest, seventeen I think? She’s like Yuri, running and tax. Shit, unnie, if you could see her - she looks nothing like what you’d expect of a street criminal. She could be in one of our jail cells with blatant evidence proving her guilty, and we’d assume she’d just gotten lost in there. Seriously, you’d never suspect her of anything,”

Once she doesn’t add anything else, Eunbi keeps her voice impressively neutral when she speaks. “And that’s it?”

“That’s it,”

Eunbi hums, again, totally void of emotion, and like that, she’s moving the conversation. “We said last time that we’d talk about whether or not you’re continuing this. I know you said that Minju isn’t directly a part of this mob, but from what you say the affiliations are quite strong, even if-”

“Can I be honest, unnie?” Chaewon cuts across her gently.

“Yeah. Yeah, of course,”

Chaewon takes in a breath, and really doesn’t see any point in being dishonest, not to Eunbi. “Even if it were something stronger than affiliations,” she takes herself by surprise with how much she means it. “I’d still do it. I- I know things started shakily, but… but just think about how close I am already, unnie,” she gives her head a gentle shake. “I’m in too far now to come out, I told them I’d join,” she wets her lips, finds that her heart has started to pick up its pace. “I have to keep going, unnie,”

She doesn’t get a response for about ten, fifteen seconds, and for a moment she’s worried that she’s been cut off, but then Eunbi’s speaking up.

“If you’re so sure… no one’s in a better position right now than you to make that judgement. Thank you, Chaewon,”

“No problem. Oh, and unnie?” 

“Mmh?”

“Are you doing okay?”

A pause, and then Chaewon’s able to hear the warmth in Eunbi’s voice when she speaks. “Yeah,” she replies, simple and to the point. “Yeah, I’m good. We’re all doing good,”

Satisfied, Chaewon lets out a small breath of relief. “Good. Good, that’s good, I’m glad,” she hesitates. “I should probably go then. I have to be back before Minju is, just to be safe,”

“Yeah. You do that then. Thank you again, Chaewon. Keep us updated, hm?”

“I will. Bye, unnie,”

“See you, Chaewon,” 

Chaewon ends the call, and emerges from the alleyway. She throws the disposable phone into the trash as she walks past the shop, sticking her hands into the pockets of her new jacket and beginning to make her way back to Minju’s place. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Eunbi pushes open the door into Hyewon’s office, where the latter along with the investigations unit are sitting in various different spots, waiting for her. They all perk up once they see her enter, Hitomi gathering herself to her feet. “What did she say?” she cuts straight to the point, eyes brimming with worry and fists clenched by her sides.

She hadn’t taken the news well, Hitomi, of Chaewon’s task being larger than they’d imagined it to be, and what she’d already witnessed. They’d all been shocked, shit, it’s not exactly an easy pill to swallow, but Hitomi’s always been closer with Chaewon than any of them. She’s known Chaewon even before she joined the unit, so she’d taken the brunt of the blow. 

“She’s alright, first off,” Eunbi says first and foremost, shutting the door behind her, and there’s a collective sigh of relief that flutters around the room. “She’s alright but…” she gives her head a soft shake, looking at Hyewon. “Well, we did say we wanted her as close to Minju as possible, didn’t we?”

Hyewon folds her arms, totally serious and her attention rapt. “What do you mean?”

“Remember I said she’d give Chaewon a place? Minju?”

“Yeah,”

“Turns out that place is also Minju’s place. Seems she’s taken a liking to her,”

At that, Hyewon’s jaw hangs open. Her neck juts forward, and she just stares at her, completely taken aback. “You can’t be-”

“I’m sorry,  _ what? _ ” Hitomi shrills, looking at Eunbi like she’s betrayed her. “You’re saying that Chaewon’s living in the same place as Kim Minju?  _ The _ Kim Minju, have you guys lost it?” 

“Hiichan-” Nako reaches out, places a hand on Hitomi’s elbow, but it’s abruptly shrugged off. 

“No! Can you guys see the danger that she’s in? She’s sleeping in a lion’s den, she-”

“ _ Hitomi _ ,” Nako’s voice is firmer this time, her arms being placed on Hitomi’s shoulders so that she’s looking directly down at her. Eunbi can’t see, but she imagines Nako’s giving her a calm, yet stern look. 

Whatever it is, Hitomi seems to get the message, face going a little lax, her head nodding slowly. She takes a moment to compose herself, and then she mumbles a soft, “I’m sorry,” under her breath.

Eunbi watches her, a little sadly, as Hitomi sits back down, staring down at her hands that she folds in her lap. She’s seen this before, but… 

Doesn’t mean she’s any less insensitive.

It’s Yujin, surprisingly, who moves things swiftly onwards, reading the room but pushing the conversation forward. “Did Chaewon say anything else, Eunbi-unnie?”

Blinking to regain her focus, Eunbi nods. “Uh, yeah, sorry. She said that casino she went to, The Violeta, it’s a cover up. Run by some mob that goes in towards The Centre, they don’t operate here so they’re not on our radar, but Minju’s group have people that work there, so they help them out in return,” she wets her lips. Saying it aloud makes it seem a lot more real. “They’re not a part of it, but from the way Chaewon described it, it sounded like a strong connection,” she hesitates, seeing that everyone in the room is still clinging to her every word, and making no attempt to interrupt her. “She said that the races are also a cover up, the ones Minju holds. There’s-” she grits her teeth. She can’t believe so much has flown under her nose. “There’s drugs, we knew that, but we didn’t know Minju’s group was connected, so that’s something. But there’s protection tax, extortion, and a bigger gambling game here in The Outskirts than we realised,” 

It’s Hyewon who grabs Eunbi’s attention, just by the way her lips curl into something ugly. “And Chaewon figured out all this in her first three days,” she says, a little bitterly, and it’s not something she chooses to hide. 

Nako looks up from where she has an arm wrapped around Hitomi’s shoulders, gaze razor sharp. She knows what Hyewon’s implying, shit, they all do, and Eunbi’s tongue only goes heavy in her mouth. 

“Hyewon-unnie-”

Hyewon looks back at her just as rapidly, tongue cutting as she speaks. “I’m making an observation,” she’s on the verge of snapping at her, in the way she talks, but Nako doesn’t waver.

“Chaewon’s mission was different. Her target was Minju, and she’s been successful. There’s nothing that-”

“I didn’t mention Chaewon at all,”

“Stop! Quiet, both of you!” Eunbi is forced to raise her voice, pressing her palm to her forehead like that’ll cease the way her head is pounding. It’s not like them to argue, shit, they hardly ever squabble aimlessly like this. “She met everyone there, Chaewon. She met everyone in the group,”

At that, the atmosphere in the room becomes tense, and everyone falls completely silent. They all stare at her like she’s spurted an extra limb, and Eunbi knows this is all any of them really want to know.

Hitomi blinks, her eyes a little shiny, and asks in a very quiet voice. “Is  _ she _ …?”

Eunbi looks each of them in the eye, almost like a reminder, a reminder that if they’re not working for the sake of justice, they should at  _ least _ be working for this.

“She’s still in there,” she confirms solemnly. “She’s there, and she’s still alive,”

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter wasn't too crazy, think that was necessary after the mess that was the first two chapters, but finally all the girls are in the story ahh!! if you've any thoughts or theories or anything like that, ao3 is finally letting me answer my comments now so! ik i was super late to answering because of that, but pls know i read every cc and every comment, and they honestly mean the world. oh!!!!!! this story also hit 1k around new years, and now it's my most read story too????????? like what????????????? i set up this account back in what, summer last year, and i only started this story in like november, and this story has become my most popular that fast. really really from the bottom of my heart it means the most.
> 
> ok enough of me being mushy lmao, stream dddance when it comes out tomorrow, and i'll see you hopefully a bit sooner next time with chapter 4!
> 
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> [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/glitzyena)


	4. Small Mannerisms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suddenly all the chaos surrounding them, the guilt brewing in her gut, the fear eating away at her mind, all becomes akin to background noise. Insignificant, easy to ignore. And just as fast, it becomes much too easy to devote all her attention to the girl in front of her, who’s so close her breath is breaking on Chaewon’s face.  
> She can see the muscles in Minju’s neck shift as she swallows. Her voice becomes quiet. “Do you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> everyone look at me go having the chapter out before the deadline wow there's a first time for everything. ohohoh also!!!! this story hit 2k hits since i last updated wtfffffff this is my first story to ever do that im??????? speechless????????? the feedback and response im getting from people is just like,,, wow it motivates me so much and makes me so so happy, ty a million times over :)) 
> 
> okayyyyy last episode on pretty girls and traumatic experiences: chaewon buys a stamp and ships off junghwa's finger to his wife, and then sends a video of her doing that to the number that yuri had given her. through this number, she makes it official that she's joining the gang, and then minju comes and picks her up. minju explains to her how the violeta is a cover up for a much larger organised crime group that goes in as far as the centre, and that they help minju's group out in exchange for chaeyeon and yena playing at the casino, and tells her about the different things that they do. they arrive at this autoshop place and chaewon meets sakura, who is weirdly disliking of her, and wonyoung who is just adorable aww.  
> minju then takes chaewon back to her place, and surprise chaewon is staying there with her, and they both talk about minju's reasonings for letting chaewon into the group. chaewon wakes up the next morning, minju's gone on an errand, and wonyoung sneaks into the flat forgetting that chaewon was going to be there. wonyoung bullies chaewon into eating mint chocolate with her, v cute stuff. minju and chaewon then go shopping, aaaand we finish off with chaewon ringing eunbi and giving her the low down.
> 
> [twitter](https://mobile.twitter.com/glitzyena)  
> [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/glitzyena)

“So Minju has to go to these meetings, in the third ring. None of us would go there that often, but whenever one of these meetings are called, Minju has to go. Sometimes Yena will go with her,” Chaeyeon tilts her head in Yena’s direction as she explains, Chaewon nodding along.

From where she’s sitting at the table, talking to Yuri, Yena perks up to look at them at the mention of her name. “What?”

“I’m telling her about Minju’s meetings. You go with her, sometimes,” 

“Oh, yeah,” Yena’s face shifts into something displeased. She’s holding a deck of cards in her hands, which she shuffles absentmindedly. “They’re a pain. They have them in the morning, because everyone’s busy at night obviously, but the traffic in that ring is fucking mental, holy shit. You’ve to get up so early, you probably know,” she gestures at Chaewon, speaking to her now. “Minju’s probably long gone before you’re even awake,” 

Chaewon nods her head accordingly, humming in affirmation. “Yeah, usually,”

Yena’s lip curls, leaning back in her seat, taking off her cap to push any stray hairs away from her forehead, before securing it again. “They spring them on us at the most random fucking times too, with practically no notice. And it’s not like she can just say no,” she scoffs, clearly disapproving. “I hate people from the third ring. Think they’re hot shit,”

Chaeyeon laughs. “I mean, you’re not wrong,”

Yena nods her head once with finality, closing the conversation and turning back to Yuri, who’d watched the interaction with an amused glint in her eye. 

“So does she just… go to these things then?” Chaewon asks, Chaeyeon returning her attention to her. “Like does she have to do anything?”

Chaeyeon purses her lips at that, thinking. “I suppose  _ Heugoni Pa _ don’t operate at all in The Outskirts really, so Minju’s their only link. It’s also to do with The Violeta, we’re heavily tied with them, obviously,” she shrugs. “Again, they’re not all that often. I doubt she has to do like, loads, but it would probably be seen as disrespectful if she didn’t go,” she looks at the watch on her wrist, glinting in the low light. “What’s taking Wonyoung so long?” she mumbles with a sigh.

Yena doesn’t even look up from her cards. “She stole my skateboard again this morning, so she stopped off at mine and Yuri’s first, probably delayed her a bit,” 

Next to her, Yuri laughs. “You knew? You were so surprised before,” 

Yena throws her an incredulous look. “Of course I knew,” she huffs out. “She never puts it back in the right spot,” she looks up, then, at each of them. “Don’t tell her I know, though. She thinks she’s slick,” 

Yuri rolls her eyes, insincere, crossing her arms. “What did I say. Wrapped around her little finger,” 

“It’s called building up a child’s confidence. Important for growth,”

“You’d let her away with murder,”

“I would, actually,”

“I- oh come off it, you know what I mean,” 

From upstairs, the trap door leading into the basement opens up with a loud creak, snatching everyone’s attention. Light footsteps begin to make their descent.

Chaeyeon stands up, dusting herself down. “That’s probably her,” she cranes her neck. “Wonyoung-ah?”

Very faintly, Chaewon picks up on the soft sound of music, so quiet she can barely figure out what kind of music it is, causing her to frown. 

Instead of Wonyoung coming down the stairs like Chaewon had expected, is a bright flash of pink, and inside her chest, Chaewon’s heart takes a nosedive. Sakura rounds the corner, hair bright against the dark of her clothes, and once again trapped by a pair of headphones that cover her ears. They’re plugged into, what, a gaming device of sorts? It has her attention completely undivided, whatever’s on the screen, and her fingers fly over what Chaewon’s assuming is a ray of different buttons, eyebrows pinched together in concentration. She hardly even looks up, reaching the bottom step and stepping off of it without even having to think. 

From where she’s stood, Chaewon can see Chaeyeon’s expression soften at the sight of her, not something she herself can relate to, but it’s only natural she supposes. When Sakura doesn’t look up or acknowledge any of them, Chaeyeon steps in front of her, and gently reaches out to take her earphones off her head. 

Sakura flinches in surprise, eyes snapping away from her screen and lips parting, letting out a small noise of shock. Her eyes blaze with something threatening, for a fraction of a second, but once she sees that it’s Chaeyeon in front of her, they lessen to something softer. She takes her headphones off of her, resting them around her neck. “You’re so lucky I wasn’t in the middle of something important,” she mumbles, pausing the game and holding the device by her side. “I thought I was the only one here, sorry. Wonyoung’s not back yet?”

Chaeyeon shakes her head, letting her fingertips fall back down by her sides. “No, not yet,”

Something seems to click inside Sakura’s head at that, the crease in her brow deepening, and she turns to the side to face Chaewon, like she’s only now just realising that she’s actually there. Like yesterday, her stare intensifies, like she’s trying to peer inside Chaewon’s head, unblinking and unmoving. 

Thankfully, it doesn’t last for too long, and when Chaewon raises her eyebrows at her, Sakura turns away, clicking her tongue in a displeased manner. She lets out a sigh, and walks over to the table, taking off her headphones and putting them on the table. She pulls out a chair for herself, sitting down. “I didn’t know Minju had a meeting today,” she continues on as if Chaewon was never even there.

The conversation pads out, but Chaewon just keeps looking at her, not really caring if Sakura can sense it or not. Resting her cheek in her palm, she narrows her eyes. Clearly Sakura is strongly disliking of her, that much is certain, and if what Wonyoung had said is true, she’s just not the kind of person to put up a front and act like she wants to have her here. Groups like these are based on trust, hell, that’s Chaewon’s only hope of breaking them down, so she doesn’t really blame her. 

Doesn’t mean that Chaewon has to like her back.

It’s been a couple days, she’s gotten around to talking with people, drinking in drips and drabs of information, but Sakura still sends her looks like she’s imagining the ground opening up beneath her feet and swallowing her whole. 

She’s the one that Chaewon’s going to have to be the most cautious of, right up there with Minju herself.

If Sakura notices her staring, she doesn’t pay her any mind, nodding her head along with what Chaeyeon’s saying about Minju’s meeting, cutting back with a sharp remark whenever Yena interrupts with a statement of her own. 

Then, cutting across all of them, comes a loud sound from upstairs, causing everyone to startle and stop talking abruptly. It had sounded like the toppling of tin cans, like someone had knocked over the stock that sits on the shelves upstairs.

Chaewon watches as they exchange weary glances with one another, and frowns. “Wonyoung…?” she suggests hesitantly.

“No,” Yena shakes her head, waving a hand and heaving a sigh, and Chaewon sees the others shoot her questioning glances. Yena stands up. “Probably the rats again,” she explains, and Yuri nods her head slowly, letting out a soft  _ ah.  _

“That would make sense,” she nods, standing up too. “They’ve been everywhere recently,” she inclines her head in the direction of the stairs, speaking to Yena. “Will we see?”

Yena makes a face, but bobs her head in compliance. “Yeah,”

They head up the stairs, leaving Chaewon alone with Chaeyeon and Sakura. Not exactly too keen in engaging in small talk, Chaewon leans into the back of her chair, pulling out her phone. A message from Wonyoung is on the front of the screen, a rushed apology for always being so off schedule, how she promises she isn’t usually like this, followed by a multitude of emojis that pulls a small smile to Chaewon’s lips. She types out a response quickly, telling her not to worry about it, and hits send. It’s followed not too long after by Wonyoung reassuring her that she’s practically only a minute away now, and Chaewon breathes out a small sigh of relief. 

The quicker she can get out of this room, the better.

Looking up from her phone, she sees Sakura’s eyes honed in on her, though they’re torn away just as fast, so fast Chaewon questions if she’d just imagined it or not.

She’s just one person. Chaewon can’t let her freak her out. It’s probably Sakura’s mentality; if something like a few hard stares are enough to get under her skin, then she doesn’t belong in a place like this. 

So even though it’s working, even though she finds herself thinking about it just a bit too much, she has to force herself to push it to the back of her head. 

“Chaeyeon-ah!” Yena’s yelling from upstairs sounds a little muffled. “Do you know where the mousetraps are?” 

Chaeyeon lets out a quiet groan, palming at her face, and Chaewon sees Sakura smile at her reaction. “That’s just her way of telling me to get them,” she mutters to herself, before heaving herself out of her chair and responding with an equally loud sound of agreement. 

Chaewon only really understands what’s going on once she sees Chaeyeon make way towards the stairs, and she registers very quickly that she’s going to be on her own with Sakura. 

That’s not something she’s ever had to deal with before. In fact she’s avoided it as much as possible, never walking into a room if Sakura is the only one there.

But now, she can’t really walk out without making it blatantly obvious, so all she can do is stare at the back of Chaeyeon’s head as she walks away,  _ will _ her to turn around, to tell Yena or Yuri to just get it themselves, vainly to no avail.

The sound of the trap door shutting behind her sends a dull thrum down Chaewon’s spine, and she swallows, not wanting to look away from it. Not quite brave enough yet, she pulls out her phone again, shifting her gaze to look down at it. She’s got no messages, nothing to do on it, nothing she  _ can _ do on it, but it’s better than having to acknowledge the painfully awkward atmosphere that’s beginning to wind herself around her neck. 

She can sense Sakura’s eyes on her. She can feel them.

She scrolls through her phone mindlessly, not paying attention to anything that’s being presented to her, keeps telling herself not to pay her any mind, not to focus on it, to just push it to the back of her head and forget about it. It’s not exactly the easiest thing in the world, and unknowingly, she finds herself growing a little warmer.

From the other side of the room, Sakura lets out a soft breath of laughter, dry and humourless, and Chaewon’s toes curl.

Unable to stop herself now, she looks up, putting on an indifferent front. “Hm?” she says it loud enough for Sakura to hear her.

“Oh? No, nothing,” Sakura waves a hand at her, looking away.

Chaewon sets her jaw. “No really, go on,” she’s pushing it now, but she’s sort of curious to see what sort of reaction she’ll get. Being inquisitive is part of the job, after all. 

Sakura’s eyes flash. “If I say it’s nothing, that’s a subtle hint for you to drop it,”

Oh, Chaewon really doesn’t like her. She doesn’t really see much point in anything in being anything other than upfront with her, so she does just that. She lets out a laugh of her own. “Look, I know you don’t trust me yet,”

At the blunt phrasing, Sakura raises an eyebrow at her. 

“And by the looks of it you don’t like me, I get that, I don’t really care. But are you really  _ that  _ keen on instigating conflict?”

Sakura regards her for a moment or two, before leaning back, propping her elbow up on the table. “You’re right,” she replies simply, but there’s that usual underlying bite to her words. “I don’t like you. Or trust you. I don’t like you at all, actually,” She speaks a little quieter, so that they’re not heard. “You’ve gotten too close with Minju too quickly. I don’t know what her reasons are, but she’s one of the most rational out of all of us. She has no reason to even speak with you,” she tilts her head, again in that chillingly cat-like fashion, lips thinned. “I don’t know why she has you here, and that pisses me off,”

Something hot is simmering in the pit of Chaewon’s stomach. She knows Sakura’s tactic; she’s prodding at her, getting her riled up and making her frustrated to get a reaction out of her, and it’s  _ working _ . Chaewon’s lip curls despite herself, and no matter how much she hears her conscious telling her to stop, to just _ ignore _ it, she really can’t help it. “Why she has me here?” she repeats Sakura’s question. “Didn’t you say it yourself?”

Sakura only raises an eyebrow at her, raising her propped-up elbow to coil a finger around bright pink hair. “What?” she says it through laughter bubbling through her lips, but it’s dripping with sarcasm. “You think the only reason she’s let you in is because she thinks you’re pretty?”

Chaewon purses her lips. “You said it, not me,”

“Oh, you really are naive then,”

Chaewon, somehow, resists the overwhelming urge to scoff at her. “Maybe I don’t particularly care about what her motives are. I’m here, and I’m better off than I was before. That’s all that matters to me,”

Sakura’s jaw sets, Chaewon sees, clearly displeased at how their conversation is panning out. “We’re in no need of any help right now,” she bites back. “The six of us are managing just fine, so Minju wouldn’t do something like this for such a simple reason,” she ennunciates each word clearly, slowly, like she’s speaking to a child. “She wants something from you,”

At that, Chaewon can do nothing to stop the way her throat grows a little tight. 

“And Minju is insatiable. She’ll stop at nothing to get it, whatever it is. That’s the way the world works for her, and you’re no exception,” she seems to notice the way Chaewon’s stiffened up, and looks victorious. “So for that reason, I think you should care _ very  _ much,”

Chaewon inhales quietly, slowly, telling herself to calm down. 

Maybe Sakura’s won. Maybe whatever _ her _ goal was, she’s achieved it.

“I know what you’re doing,” Chaewon’s voice doesn’t come out as confident as it was before. “You’re trying to get under my skin. And I already told you, I don’t care. You don’t have to like me, and I don’t have to like you,”

Yeah, Sakura has her beat. Chaewon knows it when she begins to turn away from her, that same expression on her face all the while. “Glad it’s mutual, then,”

Thankfully, Chaewon is saved by the bell. The sound of the trap door opening comes from upstairs, and the familiar sound of the steps being taken three at a time fills Chaewon with relief.

Wonyoung rounds the corner, in a flurry of long black hair and brightly flushed cheeks, totally unaware of the tension she’d just shattered. “I’m so sorry!” she apologises immediately, dipping her head in Chaewon’s direction, who stands up to assure her that it’s really alright. “I totally lost track of time, I didn’t mean to,” she stops talking to catch her breath, and she really… she really looks like she’d rushed.

“No, really it’s fine,” Chaewon reassures her. “Did you… did you run? It’s really not that big of a deal, I didn’t mind waiting,”

“No-” Wonyoung cuts herself off, waving a hand and just about having caught her breath. “No, it’s okay. I’m okay,” she looks around the room, as if only just registering now that it’s just the three of them there. “Where’s everyone else?”

“Minju has a meeting in the third ring,” Sakura replies nonchalantly before Chaewon can. “And the others are upstairs, some rats knocking over the stock again,”

At the mention of rats, Wonyoung shudders. “Not again,” she whimpers, looking around, like a hoard of them are going to swarm the room any second now. “I thought we got rid of them ages ago,”

Sakura shrugs. “I don’t know. Must be back,” 

Wonyoung gives her head a jolt, like she’s trying to bring herself back to reality. “Anyways, sorry,” she redirects her attention back to Chaewon, and gives her a usual, easy smile. Her cheeks are still flushed, but the rise and fall of her shoulders has begun to level out. “Will we get going then?”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“And then just like that,” Wonyoung snaps her fingers, the sound cutting through the thick silence like a knife through a block of cheese. “She picks up the finger, and drops it in the envelope, Chaewon. Ships it off the next morning like it was a birthday card,” she flicks one of her fingers and lets out a low whistle, like she’s miming the package being sent off. “I wasn’t there, but it’s scary, isn’t it? The wife got an awful fright I’d say, can’t have been the most pleasant of experiences. But imagine just being able to post someone’s finger in the mail like that, no care at all,” Wonyoung lets out a wistful sort of a sigh, like she’d just recounted a fond memory of her childhood. Then, she’s jabbing a thumb in Chaewon’s direction. “This is Chaewon, by the way,” 

Chaewon raises a hand as a silent greeting. “Hi,”

Stood behind the desk, the man’s lips have parted into a silent  _ o _ . His gaze drifts over to Chaewon, before darting away again, retracting his hands from where he’d had them clasped on the desk and holding them behind his back. “The um…” he stumbles over his words, Wonyoung raising an amused eyebrow. “Now that I think about it, I think we uh, think we might be able to scrape something together,” 

Wonyoung beams at him, red lips curved, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “Wonderful,” she claps her hands once. “We’ll wait here in that case, take all the time you need,” 

The man nods, standing up briskly, the shiny surface of his brow holding a thin sheen of sweat in the low light. He fumbles a bit with his chair, pushing it back in with difficulty, before whipping around on his heel and leaving them through the door behind him.

As soon as he’s gone, the smile on Wonyoung’s lips drops, twisting into a sneer. “Loan sharks,” she mutters, crossing her arms. “They’re always the most stubborn, it hurts their pride too much to let go of what they have. Too greedy,” 

She turns to face Chaewon, expression shifting into something a bit more neutral. “I might’ve exaggerated your story a little,” her eyes twinkle. “Sorry about that,”

Chaewon had underestimated Wonyoung severely.

This is her first time collecting tax with her, and while she hadn’t known exactly what to expect, she’d had a general image in her mind. She’d expected it to be a quiet affair, something done quickly and promptly, though she wasn’t quite sure what to expect if someone wasn’t too keen on complying.

While she’d been correct that Wonyoung gets everything done swiftly, she’s almost… theatrical. She’s all large smiles and warm greetings, almost putting up the front of a customer. There are a few occaissions that there are other people around, customers of the various establishments they visit, and Chaewon has to admit that if she were one of them she wouldn’t expect a thing. It’s like Minju had said before, Wonyoung just isn’t a suspicious person, she never looks out of place and treats everything they’re doing like it were some normal, everyday task. Those she was dealing with seemed to play along with her, which tells Chaewon that they’re used to her at this stage. 

Then they came to these moneylenders, who weren’t as compliant as all the others had been, told them that they’d pay the next time Wonyoung came around. So Chaewon had watched, tongue becoming increasingly heavier in her mouth as she watched Wonyoung  _ scare _ them into it.

Words rolled off her tongue like water in a stream over pebbles, not once stuttering or stumbling, the man’s face becoming increasingly more and more pale as she’d recounted the story of how Chaewon had shipped off Junghwa’s finger. Like she’d said, she’d exaggerated here and there, but it’s the way that she’d told it that made even Chaewon’s blood run cold through her veins. 

She’s street smart, Wonyoung. She knows how people work, how to get them to do what she wants. 

They leave the loan sharks in success, words of thanks fluttering off Wonyoung’s tongue, and now, they’re stood infront of the door of the final stop of the night. It’s dark inside, so Chaewon can’t tell what it is, a sign stuck to the glass of the door indicating that they’re closed. “You’re gonna give it a go now,” Wonyoung tells her, fingers closing around the door handle, but not opening the door just yet. She gives Chaewon a smile. “You good with that?”

Chaewon can’t help the way her eyebrows climb, eyelids peeling back a little further. She points to herself. “You want me to- to just ask them for it?”

“Mmhmm,” Wonyoung bobs her head as a reply, before tilting it in the direction of the building’s interior. “The people here are easy, they’ve never once put up a fight or protested. They’ll give it to you as soon as you ask,” 

Chaewon shifts uneasily, casting a weary glance inside. It’s not something particularly pleasant, and she’s felt guilty as it is this evening, watching as people have had to hand in a percentage of their profits, but it’s nothing near the worst. If she just… does it quickly and gets it done and overwith, she’ll be fine.

“Yeah,” she says on the exhale, giving herself a quick shake. “Yeah, I’ll give it a go,”

Wonyoung gives her a grin. “Cool,” she responds simply, before giving the doorknob a twist and entering.

The first thing that hits Chaewon is the smell. A strong scent of freshly baked bread instantly overcomes her, the startlingly and unusually comforting aroma swarming her senses. Her eyes widen, inhaling again, just to make sure her brain isn’t fucking with her and making it up. It’s warm inside, despite the darkness, and as her eyes begin to get used to the dimness, she can just about make out rows and rows of shelves lining the walls. There’s muffled sounds of clattering coming from a back room, along with low murmurs. It must be a bakery of sorts, there’s not many in The Outskirts; Chaewon can’t even remember the last time she was in one. 

Upon their entrance, an off-tune sounding bell sounds from above their heads, making Chaewon cringe with how loud it is. 

With the ringing of the bell, comes the stopping of the muffled noises coming from a different room. “Can’t you read? We’re closed!” someone yells, making Chaewon flinch.

That voice… she’s heard that voice before. Shit, she knows that voice. 

When Wonyoung gives her a prompting nudge, Chaewon tells herself to snap out of it. Because there’s just no way - it’s been a long night, she’s tired. “We’re here to collect!” she says it loudly, clearly, not bothering in putting up a front like Wonyoung had. There’s no one else around to hear them.

Silence, for a couple more moments, followed by more, indecipherable murmuring. Two voices meld together, both feminine, seeming to have a back and forth argument based on the tones of their voices. One is insistent, the other firm, both speaking over one another and making it impossible for Chaewon to guess which is which. One cuts the other off, and then, footsteps. Footsteps that grow increasingly louder, and then, a door is opening.

It takes every ounce of Chaewon’s willpower to prevent her jaw dropping to the floor.

Closing the door behind her, and not even sparing Chaewon the slightest of glances, is Yujin.

Chaewon stares at her, half of her mind screaming at herself internally to not react, to reel herself back, while the other half is trying to comprehend exactly what in the hell she’s looking at right now. 

What had it been that Minju said before?

_ People outside of the ones that pay us don’t know about it. _

Chaewon never even knew that Yujin worked two jobs. And if things like this are kept quiet, then she doesn’t doubt that no one else knows either.

Yujin must’ve pieced together that Chaewon was coming, or recognised her voice, because she doesn’t react to her in the slightest. She places her palms on the counter infornt of her that divides them, leaning on it. She’s wearing an apron, her sleeves rolled up to her elbows, and there’s a smudge of flour on her cheek. “It’s on weekdays you’re supposed to come here. It’s a Sunday,” her eyes are narrowed.

“We’ve got a newbie,” Wonyoung grins, seeming totally unbothered, as she points to Chaewon. “I’m showing her the ropes,” 

Yujin’s eys drift over to Chaewon, and again, the look she gives her is totally blank, regarding her like she would a stranger. It’s an unsettling feeling, something that sends chills down Chaewon’s spine. She’s so used to seeing Yujin as this bright, energetic thing, the youngest of their team who gives everything her absolute all. Seeing her now, in a different light… even though Chaewon knows that Yujin knows she’s only doing this because it’s her job, she can’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of guilt. 

Yujin must’ve had to take up the job as a detective to help pay the tax. The pay is better than that of a normal cop, no wonder she worked so hard to get in so soon. 

Yujin blinks at her. “Hi,” she sounds tired.

Somehow, from somewhere in the base of her throat, Chaewon finds the words to respond. “Hello,” it comes out level, indifferent, to her relief.

Yujin gestures vaguely at the door behind her. “We’re just gathering everything, give it a sec,” she isn’t looking at either of them now, wiping at her brow with the back of her hand. 

The three of them fall into an awkward silence, the painful kind, and Chaewon cringes internally. At the other stops, Wonyoung had buzzed about, always knowing the right thing to say, but Chaewon just can’t bring herself to bring anything up. She’s struggling to put up a normal front as it is. And by the looks of things, Wonyoung has no issue with leaving her to her own devices.

The sound of a phone ringing cuts through the silence, and Wonyoung lets out a soft  _ ah _ . “That’s me, sorry,” the apologises with another smile, reaching into her bag and fishing it out. She looks at the screen, squinting at the brightness of it in the low light, before she’s flicking her gaze up to Chaewon. “Yuri-unnie,” she says, showing her the screen, and then holding up a single finger. “Give me a sec?”

Chaewon nods, not really knowing why she’s asking her of all people for permission. “Sure,” 

Giving her one last nod, Wonyoung promptly answers the call, Chaewon just about hearing her say Yuri’s name before the sound of the bell is drowning her out, and she steps outside. 

That leaves her and Yujin alone.

They stand in awkward silence for a few moments, something that’s never happened between them before. They’re both the newest additions to the investigations unit, and Chaewon had instantly empathised with her once Yujin had joined, had known exactly how she’d felt because she really hadn’t gone through it herself all that long ago. That, and Yujin’s the sort of person that’s hard  _ not _ to like, really. She’s got that kind of infectious laughter, and the room always becomes that bit brighter when she walks in. She’s young, but she works hard, and Chaewon’s always admired her for that.

She can’t help but ask, the curiosity burning a hole in her stomach. “Eunbi-unnie,” she wets her lips. She doesn’t look directly at Yujin, doesn’t make it clear to anyone that she’s instigating a conversation. Speaks quietly, too. “Does she know?”

Yujin’s gaze flicks over to an area over Chaeown’s shoulder, like she’s checking that they’re not being watched before replying. “Of course not,” it comes out a little bitter.

Chaewon had suspected as much, clenching a fist by her side. “And... _ her _ ,” she gives her head a jolt, gesturing outside. “Does she know that you’re…” she trails off, sure that Yujin knows what she’s talking about 

Again, Yujin denies it. “No,”

Chaewon breathes out a soft exhale. “Yujin-ah, I’m so-”

“You don’t need to be,” Yujin cuts across her. “You’re not doing this because you want to do it, you’re doing your job,” Chaewon sees her swallow. “You’re doing this so that someday, I won’t have to do this anymore,” 

Chaewon’s head suddenly feels very heavy on her shoulders. 

She doesn’t reply, she doesn’t need to. From what sounds to be not all that far off, comes a weak call of Yujin’s name. Womanly, older than they both are. Chaewon thinks it could be her mother. 

Yujin’s eyes flick back to Wonyoung for a fraction of a second, before she’s using her palms to push herself away from the counter. “Tell her I’ve just gone to get it,” she mumbles, before turning around and walking through the door.

By the time Wonyoung comes back, Yujin has too, and she’s handing over a bag which Chaewon gives over to Wonyoung to put into her rucksack. It had felt relatively heavy, the bag, which just brings a bitter taste to Chaewon’s tastebuds, so she’d rid herself of it as quickly as she could. 

“Lovely,” Wonyoung says with a sigh of finality as she threads her arm through her bag again. “Thank you for your cooperation,” it’s something she’s said to everyone they’ve come across before, and Yujin responds with a dry quirk of her lips, crossing her arms. 

Chaewon puts her hands into her pockets, thinking that they’re going to leave, but just as she begins to make a move, she sees Wonyoung put a hand on her counter.

“Actually…”

Yujin’s eyes snap up to meet hers.

Wonyoung throws her a simper, eyes suddenly a scary thing in the dark. A terrifying thing. “What you’re making smells lovely,” 

Chaewon stares at her. 

“I’d love to try it,” Wonyoung gestures to Chaewon with a manicured fingernail. “Whatever they are - we’ll take two of them,” 

The tension becomes thick between the two of them - between her and Yujin, and Chaewon watches with her eyes flicking back and forth between the two of them. Unlike everyone else, Chaewon realises, Yujin matches Wonyoung’s height, so Wonyoung can’t look down on her like she would everyone else. There’s something fiery in Wonyoung’s eyes; she knows she’s pushing the line, getting too comfortable with the power she’s got in this situation. There’s something irritated in Yujin’s, like she’s just about stopping her lips from curling into a snarl. 

She takes in a slow breath, looking as though she’s stopping herself from saying something she’ll regret, which Wonyoung seems to find all too amusing. “Of course,” she responds, not bothering to hide the acidity in her tone, and when she pushes herself away from the counter, Wonyoung does the same. “Just give me a moment,” 

Wonyoung and Chaewon leave the bakery not too long later, and not even the sweetness of the piping hot bun wrapped in baking paper in Chaewon’s hold can mask the foul taste that lingers on her tongue.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“How did it go?”

Chaewon looks up to see Minju sitting at the island, a sleek looking laptop open in front of her, the blue light of the screen highlighting the high points of her face in the darkness. A champagne flute, too, is rested on the island, her fingertips loosely brushing against the stem, which Chaewon regards with mild amusement. 

“Fine, yeah,” she slips off her shoes, her jacket. “How come the lights are off?”

Minju blinks, looking around the room, as if she’s only just realising now just how dark it is. “It was bright outside when I started,” she mumbles, taking another sip of her drink, Chaewon turning the lights on out of the sheer need to be able to see. 

Minju must’ve been working a long time if she hadn’t noticed that nightfall had come. 

Chaewon goes over to where Minju is sat, sitting on a stool opposite her, lacing her fingers together. “Yena and Chaeyeon told me about your meetings,” 

Over the edge of the screen, Chaewon sees Minju’s eyebrows raise, and she looks up to make eye contact with her. “Really?”

“Mmh. I didn’t know that they were in the third ring,”

Minju nods her head slowly. “They are, yeah. A fucking pain, to be honest,”

“Yena said the same,”

“She would, she hates them. But at the same time, she gets pissy when I don’t tell her about them, she doesn’t like me going on my own. No matter how much she hates it,” 

Chaewon’s brow furrows. “Why not?”

At that, Minju shrugs, leaning back and moving a couple strands of hair behind her ear. “I hate them just as much. She wouldn’t voice it, but she wouldn’t want me to bear it on my own,” 

Chaewon can’t help but let out a soft laugh at that. “You know, I really can’t figure her out,” 

At the sound of her laughter, Minju’s own lips lift just slightly at the corners. “Who, Yena?”

“Yeah,” she pauses, and then- “Sometimes I think she’s insane,”

Minju laughs properly at that, tipping her head back and covering her mouth with her hand. “Well I mean… I guess you’re not wrong,”

“But then… like not wanting you to go on your own. That time she didn’t want Wonyoung to know she knows she takes her board,” she gives her head a tilt to the side. “It’s strange,”

Minju nods her head slowly. “Yena has…” she trails off, looking like she’s trying to think about how she’ll phrase it. “Yena has an extreme lack of empathy for people she doesn’t like. Or doesn’t know. Anyone that gets under her skin,” her eyes glint. “You’ve seen that first hand,”

Chaewon swallows, but nods along.

“Yet on the other hand… people that she does like, lay a finger on them and she’ll flip. One time this girl got tetchy with Yuri because she didn’t have the password. She was drunk as shit, so when she took a swing at her, it didn’t even come close,” she takes another gulp of champagne, jutting out one of her fingers that had been holding onto the stem and giving it a shake. “Didn’t matter to Yena. Next thing you know the girl’s on the floor and Yena’s knuckles are skinned,”

Chaewon stares at her. “...holy shit,”

Minju nods, almost looking a little smug. “It’s something Wonyoung has picked up from her. You probably saw this evening,”

Chaewon slouches in her seat, thinking back to the Wonyoung she’d gone around The Outskirts with this evening, in comparison with the Wonyoung who’d asked her to have mint chocolate ice cream with her for breakfast. “I’d thought she was really sweet,” she mutters, palming at her forehead and closing her eyes. “She’s so terrifying, I think I got whiplash,” 

Minju laughs at her. “You sound like you need a drink,”

Chaewon takes her hand away from her face. “You drink too much,”

“You don’t drink enough,”

Chaewon looks at her incredulously. “Drink  _ enough _ ?”

Minju crosses her arms. “So you don’t want one,”

“...I didn’t say that,”

Over the past couple weeks or so, talking to Minju has become easier.

Sure, Chaewon’s still terrified of her, and her heart still stammers inside her ribcage if she ever pins her with a look for a moment too long, but she’s no longer so nervous that she struggles to form coherent sentences around her. She’s slowly beginning to adapt, learning how to speak to her, along with all the others. She hasn’t had to do anything as intense as the first night in The Violeta, nor has she had to witness anything of the sort, but she hasn’t become complacent. Especially after seeing how even Wonyoung handled different people tonight. She doesn’t underestimate anything that any of them can do. 

Minju’s taken the bottle, half empty, from the fridge, and is now pouring Chaewon a generous glass. “I’d choose not to go to the meetings if I could,” she returns to Chaewon’s original topic of choice, handing the glass over once it’s full. “Yena probably told you. People in the third ring think they’re god’s gift to the Earth. Flamboyant shits. They’re a pain to deal with, they don’t see regular reason,” she sighs. “But they’re linked to The Violeta, and they help us out just as much as we help them,” 

“So you’ve got no choice, really,” Chaewon summarises, and Minju hums monotonously.

“If I didn’t show up, they’d take offence. I hardly do anything there, because we’re only affiliates. But it’s the act of showing up,” her lip curls. “That and they more than likely know how much I hate it. They’re the kind of people that would get a kick out of something like that,” she rolls her eyes. “We’ve all heard about it before. People in the other rings look down on us. They think we’re the scum of the Earth,”

Chaewon purses her lips, interested. “Yeah, I have. But that time I went to The Violeta was the first time I’d left The Outskirts,”

Again, Minju hums, all of a sudden looking like she’s not enjoying the taste of her drink as much as she was before. “It’s all… just something we’ve got to put up with for the time being,”

Chaewon frowns at her. “For the time being?”

Minju often gets this look in her eye. And no matter how long she’s been with her at this stage, Chaewon still has yet to get used to it. “We’ve already got a foot in the second ring,” her voice becomes something quieter. “Yena and I are often called into the third. We’re beginning to spread,”

Chaewon holds her breath, watching as Minju hooks one leg over the other, leaning back and swirling the remains of her drink with a minute movement of her wrist. 

“And I plan to go in as far as The Centre,”

Chaewon looks at her, drinks in her appearance. Pale skin, dark hair, lips shiny with drink and eyes a greedy thing. Something strong, something powerful. Something that’s constantly in the back of Chaewon’s mind. And it’s… confusing. Because Minju at a first glance really doesn’t look like much out of the ordinary, perhaps having an edge on the visual appeal, but really other than that Chaewon wouldn’t think much of her. But the ore she looks, and the more she begins to understand her, the more she begins to pick up on these small mannerisms.

That intensity that’s drawn into her pupils, dilating them. The way her words come out as something quieter when the tension thickens, and you have no choice other than to strain to hear her, to put all your attention into listening to her.

Maybe Chaewon’s become better at handling herself around Minju.

But that doesn’t make her any less terrifying.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Ever since her very first night, Chaewon hasn’t attended any races.

They’re held irregularly, with intermittent intervals to avoid any outsiders picking up on when they’re being held, stray wanderers like Yuri had assumed Chaewon was. She’s sort of… excited at the idea, of being able to go again, this time in a more comfortable position, the hunter rather than the one being hunted. She can relax knowing that she doesn’t have as much riding on her back, just has to go along and do whatever it is Minju asks of her. And, by the sounds of things, she’s just going to be patrolling alongside Yuri. 

She rests her cheek in her palm as Sakura explains to all of them the procedures that need to be carried out, gesturing to the screen of her laptop as she talks. It’s usually not like this, Minju had told her. But according to her, they haven’t held a race in the south westerly sector in a while, and holding another one after so long requires a bit of tweaking compared to their usual routine that would normally just play out by itself.

It’s mostly numerical information, information that shouldn’t be of any importance to Chaewon, but going by what Eunbi had told her months before, all information is good information. Betting rates, participation numbers, expected turnover and expenditure, Chaewon drinks it all in with a disinterested front. The sheer scale of the numbers on Sakura’s screen aren’t as surprising as they were once before, don’t faze her as much. Chaewon takes it as a good thing.

There’s a lot of information on Sakura’s computer.

She doesn’t doubt that Sakura is smart enough to work without leaving a single trace - she’s too intelligent, too sharp, to leave any sort of cyber footprint, and Chaewon reckons it’d be impossible to connect her to any sort of crime that would take place through the web. Even if Chaewon doesn’t want to admit it, she’s good, and she knows what she’s doing. 

It’s also unlikely that all of this group’s history is all backed up on this one single computer - it’d just be too easy to access. This group needs to keep records, just like any normal, functioning business would. And Chaewon doesn’t know how, or by what means, but somehow, Sakura’s got all of their information hidden away under lock and key. Like a treasurer of sorts.

But shit, even if Chaewon doesn’t manage to figure that out - she wouldn’t even know where to start - if she could somehow manage to transfer any sort of information from Sakura’s computer to the station… shit, that could be huge.

Chaewon lets out a soft sigh to herself, giving her head a soft jolt. 

It’s an idea. A proposal. Something she has no idea how she’d carry out, but the main obstacle in all this is Sakura herself. 

Of course it had to be her. Chaewon thinks she’d rather Yena or Chaeyeon over her. 

Chaewon watches, eyes narrowed, as Sakura clicks to something else on the screen, pointing and explaining while everyone else nods along in earnest. If she’s to even come close to gaining that kind of information, or even close to Sakura’s computer itself… 

Chaewon groans internally. Whether she likes it or not, she’s gonna have to suck it up and play nice with her. 

Against her own will, but in favour of her better judgement, Chaewon lingers around the basement area once they’ve finished up, people slowly beginning to climb the stairs in order to leave. Wonyoung and Yuri both grab rucksacks - it’s a Saturday night, so they’re busy with deliveries, both of them wrapped up warm since the cool weather doesn’t seem to be showing any signs of holding off any time soon. Yena busies herself with both of them, grumbling under her breath about how they’re not wearing any hats, any scarves, how they’re both going to catch colds and that she’s not going to help either of them (Chaewon highly doubts this). They always go together, whenever they’ve got deliveries, always a less formal affair, and easier to get out of hand. It’s the tax they collect separately, Chaewon had realised, both of them taking different sectors. 

Minju stops from where she’s about halfway up the stairs, holding onto the banister. “Chaewon-unnie,”

Another thing Chaewon hasn’t quite gotten used to, the idea of Minju using formalities with her. She doesn’t use them with the others, the ones that are older than her, and the first time she’d spoken like that outside of just the two of them it had garnered them a few odd stares. 

Chaewon looks up at her, and Minju tilts her head in the direction of the exit. “You coming?”

Chaewon nods at her silently, before holding up a finger, wordlessly telling her that she’ll just be one second. Minju gives her a strange look, before her eyes drift over to Sakura, still sat at the table with her computer, and seems to piece together that Chaewon has something she wants to say to her. The strange look doesn’t shift from her face, however it does become something a bit more enlivened. She purses her lips, nodding slowly. “I’ll start the engine, then,” she tells her, and no sooner than that, Chaewon and Sakura are left alone.

It comes to Chaewon’s attention pretty quickly that Sakura’s not even aware of it. She’s still engrossed in whatever it is she’s looking at on the screen, eyebrows pinched in concentration. Chaewon considers cleaning her throat to garner her attention, but figures that that’d come across too strong, so she settles with a casual “Hey,”

Sakura’s eyes flick up to look at her, and Chaewon physically sees her expression go a little slack once she realises that it’s her. She doesn’t look at her, obviously deeming whatever it is on the computer as more important. She only responds with a questioning noise, not really seeming all that interested.

Chaewon takes in a breath. Sakura probably has no interest in what she has to say, but getting it off her chest and out in the open, even just making her aware of it, that’s Chaewon’s goal. “I know… I know you and I don’t exactly see eye to eye,” she starts off with a fact, and while Sakura scoffs at the statement, still refusing to look at her, Chaewon continues on. “And the whole I don’t like you, you don’t like me thing. I get that, it’s whatever,” she pauses, allowing Sakura to make some sort of comment, or remark, but nothing comes out. “But I just wanted to let you know that I don’t intend to let that get in the way of anything,”

That grabs Sakura’s attention. 

She lowers the screen of her laptop to get a better look at her, folding her arms on the tabletop and leaning forward slightly. That feline stare returns, suspicious and calculative. “How do you mean?”

Chaewon shrugs. “Everyone’s been telling me that half the reason you guys have such good outcomes is because of how well you work together. There’s cohesion,”

Sakura raises a brow, but doesn’t interrupt her.

“And by me coming in here and arguing with you, that cohesion is ruined. And that’s not what I wanna do,” she makes sure she’s looking back at Sakura with a stare just as unfeigned. “You can be disliking of me all you like. But I’m going to be working with you just the way I would anyone else. Or else there’ll be a…” she gestures with her hands, trying to find the right words. “Loss of balance,”

Sakura looks at her for a few moments longer, in that manner of hers that she has, piercing and eyes darting across her face like she’s trying to see past it and peer inside her head. Chaewon just stands still, letting her, clenching her fists behind her back to hide the way her fingertips have begun to quiver.

Finally, Sakura’s looking back at her screen, and Chaewon lets out a silent exhale. Sakura cups her chin in her palm, fingertips brushing against her lower lip thoughtfully. She’s finally letting out a soft breath of laughter, shaking her head. “Right answer,” she replies.

Chaewon’s eyes go wide, frozen to the spot. She doesn’t know how to respond, doesn’t say anything. 

After her standing there for a couple more seconds, Sakura’s looking at her again. “Well?” she says expectantly. “I wouldn’t keep Minju waiting, if I were you,” 

Her expression is still distasteful, lip still curled, though- though Chaewon thinks something about her gaze has become the smallest fraction softer.

Chaewon blinks, and then, she’s unable to stop herself from breaking out into a smile. “Yeah, of course,” she dips her head as a silent thanks. “See you tomorrow,”

Sakura doesn’t respond, only gives her a dismissive wave, now fully engrossed in what’s on screen. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“What did you say to her?” Minju asks her once Chaewon’s clambered into her car, putting the car into reverse as she begins to pull out. 

“Things have been unnecessarily tense between us,” Chaewon sighs, wiping at her forehead with the back of her hand, not even having been aware of just how tense that one small conversation had made her. “I didn’t come here to mess up any dynamics, I just want to…” she motions with her hands. “Slip in. If the room becomes tense when Sakura and I are both in it, then I thought it’d be something I have to fix. I basically just told her that. From now on, I’ll work with her just like I would any of you. Regardless of what we think of each other - it’s not something I’m gonna let impact the way we do things,” 

Minju nods her head slowly, and in her peripherals, Chaewon sees facial expression shift, cheeks becoming a bit fuller. “And what did she say to that?”

Chaewon bites back a smile of her own. “Right answer,” she quotes. “So I think… think I’m at least on the right track,” 

Minju keeps her eyes on the road, barren and almost totally void of any other vehicles due to the late hour. She runs a hand through her hair idly. 

“I think you might just be,”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Time, Chaewon comes to learn as the days drag on, does its fair share in terms of healing. 

Sleeping at night becomes easier, she finds herself not waking up on the floor as much as she used to, without bruises littering her knees and stabbing pains in the back of her head. She used to stay awake for hours, paranoia and just plain, utter fear keeping her eyes open. Whenever she could muster the courage to close them, she’d see the panic laced into Jungwha’s face, spluttering and coated in sweat, eyes bulging out of their sockets. She’d see spatters of blood, red mist hanging in the air, dripping from the handrest of that chair and falling onto the carpet with irregular  _ plops _ that sound as deafening as car horns inside her ears. She’d feel the weight of his finger on her lap, and the more the hours crawled by, the worse it would get. 

But, the more she sees, the easier things become to bear. 

She’d come into the autoshop one evening to find a man tied to a chair in one of the corners, eyes unnaturaly wide, bloodshot, and limbs bound with his mouth stuffed with a gag. Chaeyeon, Yena, Sakura and Yuri were sat in the room talking like he wasn’t even there, and they’d invited Chaewon as if nothing was out of place. It had been unsettling, sitting in the same room as a hostage, hearing the chair legs bang against the hard floor as he struggled. He looked young, maybe only a little older than she herself, and she couldn’t help but be curious. 

She tilted her head in his direction. “What’s he here for?”

Yena had looked particularly pleased by her question, like she’d been waiting for it. “Our friend here,” she raised her voice, intending for him to hear her. “Stole from us,” 

Muffled sounds of protest, and more of the chair legs banging against the floor. 

Chaewon tilted her head. “Stole what?”

Sakura had laughed at that. “Take a wild guess,”

Chaewon flitted her eyes over to him. The erratic behaviour, the wild look in his eyes. She looks back at Yena, the pieces inside her head slowly but surely coming together. “Is he high?”

“As a kite,” Yena confirmed gleefully, clapping her hands once. “He’s one of our delivery boys, thought it’d be okay to skip a couple stops  _ and _ keep a portion of the profits,” 

The boy protested again, and Chaeyeon had rolled her eyes. “Oh, shut it,” 

“Minju takes deception as something personal,” Yuri had leaned over from where she was sat next to her. “And if it’s something personal, then Minju deals with it personally,” 

That night, Minju hadn’t come home till the early hours, the door being closed a bit more forcefully than what could be considered normal. 

Things like that, Chaewon will walk in on them when she least expects it. Or she’ll be told about them in advance like she was being informed of a weather prediction. She has no choice but to become used to them, to just accept that these are the kinds of things she’s going to have to deal with. They don’t ask her to carry out anything herself, Chaewon doesn’t think she  _ could _ do anything herself, but bearing witness is just almost something that’s expected. 

It’s not easy, by any means. Many sleepless nights, moments where the sweat breaking out on her skin becomes noticeable even to others, but she always grits her teeth and digs her heels in. Because there are people who think she can’t do this, who think that she’ll opt out once she reaches her breaking point, whether they’re in the station or in the autoshop, it doesn’t matter. Chaewon has to prove to them, still has to prove to herself, that they’re wrong.

So no matter how unbearable it seems, no matter how much it plagues her thoughts and makes her sick to the stomach, she sticks it out.

And then, well. As she’d said before, time starts to heal. And while it’s by no means normal to her, seeing such sights slowly but surely become easier for her to bear. 

Even though she tells herself not to, she can’t help but be curious whenever she thinks about who the other detective is. They could all be it, but the more Chaewon thinks about it, the more she confuses herself, before she pushes it to the back of her mind only for it to resurface just a couple days later. She just doesn’t have enough evidence to make any sort of estimate for who it could be, and Chaewon can’t imagine any of them being a part of her team at all. 

It’s hard for her to know whether or not the detective is even still on their side. Either she’s been here for so long that they know exactly how to act, or they’ve fallen victim to this kind of lifestyle and have no intention of returning.

And… after being here for a short while now… Chaewon could sort of see how that could be every possibility. Yes, it’s dangerous. It’s frightening, and even that’s an understatement. But there’s a comfort in having power, power that you can constantly depend on. 

She often wonders if Eunbi thinks the same thing.

She updates her from time to time, never too often. She takes detourres on the way home from errands, always quick and knowing exactly what she’s going to say in order to save time. Eunbi always listens intently, doesn’t interrupt and just lets her talk, saving her questions until the end. It’s a good system she has going, something about its efficiency almost… exciting. She’s actually doing pretty alright despite the circumstances she’s in, and so far, she’s got everyone fooled. The work she does for Minju doesn’t go unnoticed by her, whether it be helping out Wonyoung or Yuri, visiting the Violeta, becoming acquainted with more and more people, often rewarded with words of praise (and a glass of champagne). All those things, it’s a similar sensation she gets from being a detective, that strong sense of purpose that she practically thrives in. 

She especially seals the deal once she manages to get Sakura to come around with her. She doesn’t treat her with hostility, just like she’d said she would, and complies with her whenever they have to work together. Although like most other things, it takes time, but sooner than later she begins to respond to Chaewon’s efforts. She doesn’t all of a sudden act like they’re best friends, but she’ll acknowledge her when she comes into the room, offer her a good night when they’re done for the day. 

On one particular cold day, Chaewon was sitting in the basement, teeth chattering and rubbing at her forearms. Sakura had come in, and wordlessly, she’d placed a takeaway cup on the table in front of her, steam curling from the hole in the plastic lid.

Chaewon had blinked up at her in surprise, not saying anything as Sakura walked by her like she hadn’t even done anything. When Chaewon had made a questioning noise, she’d looked at her out of the corner of her eye, and muttered a quiet “Don’t get used to it,” 

Chaewon had grinned at her with a word of thanks, hugging the cup to her chest. Sakura had scoffed to herself, walking into her room and closing the door behind her. 

Chaewon has settled in just about as good as she can manage, she thinks. It’s taken her time and it’s by no means been handed to her on a silver platter, but it’s something. She thinks that even if it’s just by a minute fraction, she’s begun to gain their trust.

Even Minju’s.

Along with getting used to Minju, and in turn, Minju becoming used to her, Chaewon’s slowly begun to delve into one of the advantages she has over her - Minju’s physical attraction to her. It’s not something either of them had touched upon ever since the day it was first brought up, but the more comfortable Chaewon became, the more she itched to test the waters. 

So, she strokes at Minju’s ego, nods along with what she says and laughs at the right times - never too much out of fear she’ll overdo it. Sometimes she’ll catch Minju looking at her with that intensity that draws into her eyes, whether it be intentional or not, and instead of looking away or flinching like she would before, she’ll respond in kind. Minju will raise a brow at her, mostly, and her lips will curve, before she’ll return to whatever it had been that she was doing previously. 

It’s a little exciting, a little nervewrecking, to start off. But the more she does it, and the more she thinks about it…

It’s not difficult at all. 

Fucking around with something like this, yeah, it shakes Chaewon to her very bones. But she has no difficulty with it - does it without even thinking. Everything else she’s done, it’s demanded every ounce of her energy, all of her willpower. This is something that doesn’t need any of that, doesn’t even require her to think about it. 

Minju is not a good person. Minju kills in cold blood, and has ulterior motives that Chaewon doesn’t think she can even begin to comprehend. And yet interactions like these roll of her tongue without a stutter, and out of everything that she’s been forcing herself to do, out of all the things she’s had no choice but to witness, she thinks that this one might just be the one that she hates the most. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Chaewon grips onto the the barricade behind her, head tipped back as she laughs, covering her mouth with the back of her hand. “No, I’m sorry-” she cuts herself because she needs to physically breathe, cheeks sore with how much she’s smiling. “That’s actually brilliant,”

“But I’m dead serious!” Yuri exclaims with a huff, crossing her arms across her chest to try and retain some warmth. She brushes her hair away from her face, the light wind that’s picked up causing the dark grey locks to obstruct her vision. “Like I was on the verge of strangling her. Two fucking a.m, it was,” she scoffs, giving her head a toss. “ _ Yuri-ah, we need another pack of cards _ ,” she says, putting on a pretty impressive impersonation of Yena’s voice. “Yeah, and I need fucking _ sleep. _ What did she expect me to do really?” she scrunches up her nose in visible distaste. “The first and the last time I let them play poker at our place. They didn’t sleep a fucking wink that night, too fucking competitive. Neither of them know how to lose,”

“Have they lost at The Violeta before? Like ever?”

Yuri looks up at the sky, thinking. “I know they have to purposefully lose sometimes. People wouldn’t play against them if they won a hundred percent of the time, there’d be no point if you knew you were never going to win. There probably have been times when they’ve unintentionally lost, on the rare occasion, but it’s not like either of them would ever admit it,” she gives Chaewon a knowing look. “Again, you’ve seen it with your own eyes. Ridiculously competitive. Even though they’re both at practically at the same level, they’re constantly trying to one-up each other,” 

Chaewon thinks back to the first night in The Violeta. On that particular night, they hadn’t been going against each other like they usually had, but rather with a common goal. They’d worked together practically seamlessly, and it crosses Chaewon’s mind that going up against two people like them, with a constant drive, constant hunger to win… it’s not a position she ever wants to find herself in, no matter how difficult it may be to avoid. 

And Yuri… Chaewon still has yet to see this other side of her that Minju had mentioned to her, and in all honesty she’d rather keep it that way. Even thinking back to the way she’d reacted to Wonyoung before still leaves her with this funny sort of sensation she can’t quite describe, and she’d rather not experience the same thing again. It’s kind of inevitable, she supposes, but she’s going to push that to the back of her mind and worry about it when it comes. 

From not too far off, the loud sound of boisterous laughter and shouting garnering both of their attention. Down the street, a small group has arrived, seemingly unequipped for anything that being in a place like this would require. Or, to put it differently, exactly like how Yuri had described what Chaewon had looked like on that first night: sticking out like a sore thumb. 

Yuri lets out a yawn, and stretches out her arms. “That’s the universe telling us to stop slacking and to get back to it,” she slouches once she stops stretching, like a rubber band that’s been snapped. “I’ll take a look at them, they’re probably just a bunch of strays. It’s usually just a coincidence that they come here at this time. You good with just wandering?”

Chaewon nods her head, pushing herself away from the barricade. It’s been quite easy, actually, just going up to people and striking up a random conversation, and slipping in the request for the password whenever it seems fitting. No one yet hasn’t responded with how they’re expected to, which honestly just makes Chaewon’s life a whole lot simpler. 

“Cool,” Yuri begins to walk away. “See you in a bit then,”

She leaves Chaewon on her own, and Chaeown is just about to go away and do as she’d been advised, when the loud sound of someone clearing their throat prevents her from doing so. 

She stills, looking at the people around her, none of them doing anything out of the ordinary. She frowns to herself, confused. It had been the kind of noise you make when you blatantly want someone’s attention, but… 

Chaewon shakes her head, brushing it off. She takes another few steps forward.

Again, another clearing of a throat. Louder, this time, and coming from somewhere on her left. Chaewon halts in her tracks, and turns around to face the direction that the noise had come from. She scans the area, the people that are walking by, and again, nothing seems out of the ordinary. But then, she catches sight of a figure hunched over one of the barricades, with a cap and a mask hiding her face, but Chaewon would recognise her anywhere. 

She curses under her breath, looking over her shoulder to see that Yuri’s long gone, before making her way over. Once they’re close enough, Chaewon hisses at her. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Yujin moves the peak of her cap so that it’s higher up her face, making it easier for Chaewon to see her. “It’s shocking, I know, and I’m sorry, but I’m the only one other than you that they don’t recognise,” she speaks urgently, and even though no one can hear them, she speaks quietly too.

Chaewon looks at her like she’s started speaking in a different language. “Did Eunbi send you here?”

Yujin nods her head. “She’d wanted to tell you beforehand, but we have no means of contacting you directly,” she swallows. “She’s coming tonight. Her and Hyewon-unnie,” 

Chaewon can physically feel her eyes bulging out of her sockets, having to reel herself in to prevent herself from yelling. “What?” she seethes.

Yujin holds up a hand to calm her. “Don’t worry, don’t worry, they’re not going to do anything. They’ll stage it like it was a coincidence, it’ll just be the two of them. It’s just like… how did she put it? Something to make their presence known,”

With that, Chaewon relaxes the smallest bit. “They’re just… showing up?”

Yujin nods her head. “That’s it. They wanted me to let you know, so that you won’t be surprised when it happens,”

“Okay…” Chaewon presses her lips together. “Okay. Did she say when they’re coming?”

“Afterwards,” Yujin replies. “When they do, just… you know yourself, don’t make it too obvious,” she looks past Chaewon’s shoulder, looking like she’s growing a little restless. “I don’t wanna talk to you for too long, the less anyone sees of me, the better,”

“No no, wait,” Chaewon reaches out to hold her arm, but retracts just as fast. “About what happened that time before…” she trails off, not even too sure what to call it.

It takes a minute, but Yujin eventually seems to get what Chaewon’s alluding to, letting out a soft “Ah,” and nodding her head. “Unnie, that’s-” she cuts herself off with a sigh, looking down at her shoes. “That’s not something anyone can help. That’s just the way things are here. I know it was selfish of me not to tell Eunbi-”

“No! No, it’s not,” Chaewon insists. “They’ll do-” she swallows. “They’ll do terrible things if you don’t pay. Eunbi-unnie would understand, it’s not selfish of you at all,” she wants to comfort her with ways other than words, a hug or holding onto her arm, but that’s definitely not something she can risk. “You must be so exhausted,”

Yujin gives her a wry smile. “You’re saying that, of all people?” she shakes her head. “Be honest with me, unnie. How is it?”

Chaewon presses her lips together, now her turn to look away. She heaves a sigh. “It’s… scary,” she admits. “The people are terrifying. And sometimes they act totally normal, and I think that’s just what makes it so…” she shudders, not quite able to find the right word, but sure that Yujin will understand her regardless. “Sleeping was hard,” she tries to laugh, but it only sounds forced. “If I managed it I always woke up on the floor, but… I’ve gotten better. I’m getting used to it,” 

Yujin doesn’t reply, but she makes a face of acknowledgement. “Look, I don’t want to keep you too long,” a childish quirk of her lips, and Chaewon’s given a startling reminder of just how young she is. She works hard, Yujin, so it’s easy to forget that she’s really living out her youth as an adult would; working two jobs, giving each of them more than what she gets in return. She’s smart too, clever with abstract ways of thinking. A part of Chaewon wants to go with her, just head back to the station and just forget that any of this ever happened, but really, she could never. Not when she’s in this far already, just when she’s gotten used to the ropes.

“Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. I don’t want anyone seeing you. You’re lucky Wonyoung doesn’t come to these things, she would’ve recognised you,”

“Hm? Oh yeah,” she scratches at the back of her head. “Well you know, couldn’t really have told Eunbi that. That she might recognise me,”

“Oh. Yeah, of course, sorry,” Chaewon gives forehead a gentle tap with her palm. “Well, I’d better go,” she doesn’t want to, but at the same time, she does. It’s a strange sensation. 

Yujin nods. “Yeah,” she gives her a smile. “Good luck, unnie,”

Chaewon’s stomach twists, but she smiles back. “You too. Oh, wait!”

“Mmh?”

“Tell everyone that I said hi?”

Just before she turns her back on her, Yujin gives Chaewon a thumbs up. “Will do,”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Yuri lets out a loud cheer, followed by breathless laughter as Yena takes off her helmet, clapping her hands delightedly, and Chaewon can’t help but follow suit. There’s an elated smile on Yena’s face, something wild raving in her eyes as she pats down her hair, pointing at Minju’s car as it comes to a slow next to her. 

Yena had beaten her, by what must’ve been only a couple seconds, but well won nonetheless. She peers down at Minju from where she’s sitting on her bike, one foot placed on the ground and the other on the footrest. “You,” she husks throkugh heavy breaths, talking loudly over the sound of roaring engines as more and more of them cross the finish line. “Are so fucking shit,” 

Minju climbs out of her car, really not looking all too bothered, though if Chaewon were to take an educated guess, it’s just a very good act that she’s putting up. “The fact that you still act like that when you win just tells me everything I need to know,”

Yena clicks her tongue, but she doesn’t look pissed, or annoyed, rather like she enjoyes the back-and-forth of it. “That’s only because you wish you could,” 

Minju unstraps her gloves, the sound of the velcro ripping through the air like a protest, and then she’s tossing them into the car before shutting the door. “I let you win, and you know full fucking well I did,”

“Oh, poor excuse,” Yena makes a face at her. “What’s that make us now?”

Minju brushes her hair back from her forehead, not even looking at her. “I don’t know, I don’t keep track,”

Yena sneers. “Because you know that the truth of the matter is-”

“Oh, what _ ever _ ,” Yuri interrupts her, hopping the barricade and bypassing Minju’s car to make her way over to Yena. “How about less focus on that,” that sort of petulant way she has of speaking returns. She stops just short of Yena, having to look up at her thanks to the added height that the bike gives Yena. She stands up on her toes, curling one hand around the leather collar of Yena’s jacket, and tugs her down so that she can hear her when she speaks. Whatever it is Yuri says, Chaewon doesn’t pick up on it, but something in Yena’s gaze becomes a little more hazy.

Minju however, seems as though she heard is just fine, and rolls her eyes.

When Chaewon flicks her gaze back over, she sees that Yuri has pulled Yena into a kiss, her free hand having moved up to cradle her jaw. Yena smiles against her lips despite the slight awkwardness of the angle, holding tightly onto Yuri’s wrist.

Chaewon averts her gaze, feeling a little invasive, at pretty much the same time Minju returns her gaze to her. They both look at one another, and a simple  acknowledgement seems to pass through them both. Chaewon looks away, shaking her head. “I know exactly what you’re thinking,” she states, purposefully coy.

Minju plays dumb with her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she replies airily, making her way over the barrier to join Chaewon on the other side. Her eyes flick down, and back up again, a movement that Chaewon is more than used to at this stage, wordlessly letting her know that what she says doesn’t exactly correlate with what she means. “I wasn’t thinking anything,” she draws her lips together, beginning to walk off and gesturing for Chaewon to follow her. “Why, what were  _ you _ thinking?”

Chaewon jogs a little to catch up, falling into step with her. “I was just thinking that Yena’s probably right, I’d say you have lost more,”

Minju gives her a feigned unimpressed look, and Chaewon can’t help the laugh that escapes her. Minju points a finger at her. “Remember your place,” Chaewon thinks it’s meant to sound threatening, but it doesn’t, not really.

It’s much too easy for her to fall into conversation like this with Minju. Much, much too easy. 

Everyone seems to have finished the race by now, the last few stragglers coming in with heads hung low. Chaewon watches them, drinks in their try-hard attire, and is reminded of the man with the spiked gloves that Minju had told her had tried to sabotage her. “None of them try to kill you this time?”

Minju purses her lips in faux consideration. “Not that I’m aware of,” she scans the crowd of racers, lips curled into what’s almost a sneer. “And I’m still alive, so. If anyone did it wasn’t the best of attempts. 

“Was it the first time that had happened?” Chaewon inquires. 

“At a race specifically or just in general?”

Chaewon smiles, shaking her head. “I can’t believe I even have to specify. Let’s say at a race specifically, then,”

Minju tilts her head, eyes narrowed like she’s thinking. “Well then I’d say maybe a small handful of times. It’s not as common, people here usually just want money, and killing me isn’t going to get them that. Maybe sometimes people are just ridiculously bad at losing and can’t handle it,” she shrugs. “But most people here just have one intention,”

“ _ A small handful _ ,” she quotes disbeliving. “Do you not become… I don’t know, paranoid?”

Minju’s eyes glint. “No, not really,” she says. “Because I know that I-”

She cuts herself off, frowning. A look of realisation dawns on her face, lips parting and eyes widening. “Do you hear that?” she stops walking. 

Chaewon blinks at her, stopping too just a few paces ahead of her. She tilts her head. “Hear what?”

Minju holds up a palm. “Listen,”

Chaewon does. And as she listens, the reminder of what Yujin had said to her earlier on hits her before the actual sound itself. 

_ She’s coming tonight. Her and Hyewon-unnie. _

Sirens. Minju’s hearing sirens. 

As the sound of them becomes more and more evident, that means that more and more people begin to take notice. People start to stir, yelling starts to erupt, as the sounds grow louder, nearer. 

Not really all too sure why, Chaewon feels herself growing unreasonably nervous. She’d known this was going to happen, so why her hands become clammy with sweat she doesn’t understand. “The police?” she asks, saying it more to herself than to Minju. 

An undercover squad car rounds the corner a fair distance away from them, lights flashing making its presence immediately known. The sirens blaring around them pierce into Chaewon’s eardrums, high pitched wails that run a needle through the spongy tissue of her brain, and she grits her teeth together. Her and Minju can only watch as people around them begin to flee, the red and blue lights staining their skin and running across them like cold blood, people bumping into her and their angered yells making her chest grow tight. 

She grips onto the elbow of Minju’s sleeve, steadying herself, trying to find some sort of stability. She doesn’t know why she’s so shocked, why she’s behaving so unprepared. This was bound to happen at some stage, shit, this is just another step in the plan. 

She doesn’t know why her throat has begun to close up. 

“They-” Chaewon feels like she’s swallowed a thick mouthful of wet sand. “How are they here?” 

She shifts her gaze over to Minju, who’s looking at the single squad car with such intensity Chaewon flinches at the mere sight. Her eyes are darting sharply to and fro, before she’s shifting her weight backwards, tonguing at the inside of her cheek. 

“There’s only one,” she says. “Could just be a coincidence, it happens,” she gives her head a tilt. “That or they got a tip off. That can happen too, some bitches think they’re some sort of fucking apostle,”

Chaewon can hear it, as she spits out the latter half of her sentence. Minju is fucking pissed. 

Chaewon gives her sleeve the gentlest of tugs. “Minju,” she tries to break her out of her haze of anger, speaking delicately, yet firmly. “Minju, we need to go. Like now,” she looks around for Yuri and Yena to see that they’re gone, along with Yena’s bike. They must’ve made a run for it amidst the crowds, and right now, Chaewon really thinks that they should follow suit. 

But, to her surprise, Minju holds her ground, almost like she’s waiting for something. She holds up a hand, silently telling her  _ not yet _ . 

Chaewon herself really doesn’t want to stick around. She doesn’t think she can cope with seeing anyone from the station, not with Minju by her side, it’s like having two words that should never come close to one another colliding. Chaewon needs to keep them both separate if she’s to keep herself sane.

But Minju… Minju looks like she almost wants to see who it is. 

The squad car comes to a jolting stop, and the doors are flung open before it’s even come to a standstill, two figures clambering out.

Chaewon hears Minju let out a rasped breath of laughter, dry, and sounding completely and utterly infuriated. 

Only just about able to see over the tops of people’s heads, Chaewon stands on her toes so that she can get a better look. 

Eunbi and Hyewon both get out of the car, just like Minju had promised that they would. Even with the distance between them, Chaewon can see the severity of their expressions, the sight of them only growing the lump in her throat.

“Well,” Minju’s voice has done that thing again, that small mannerism of hers when she goes quiet. “Long time no see,” 

Chaewon blinks rapidly, shaking her head and forcing herself to focus. “You know them?” she exclaims, incredulous sounding, thanking her lucky stars that in Minju’s eyes the shaking of her voice is justified. 

“Mildly acquainted,” she gives her chin a subtle jolt in Eunbi’s direction. “See the one on the left? Short hair?”

Chaewon presses her lips together tight. Amidst the crowd, neither Eunbi nor Hyewon have seen them yet, she wonders how long it’ll take them. They’re not going to conduct any arrests, like Yujin had said, they’re just here to make their presence known, they’re outnumbered by too much to do anything beyond that. “Yeah,”

“That’s Kwon Eunbi, head detective,” she says Eunbi’s name like its taste on her tongue is foul. “Aren’t we lucky?”

Chaewon shoots her an urgent look. “Head detective?” she parrots uneasily. She remembers before how Eunbi had mentioned long before how Minju had come across all of the others before, Chaewon had just assumed they were once off occasions when they caught glimpses of each other, and it just wasn’t worth taking the risk with the consequences that could come with being recognised. But Minju knows Eunbi’s full name, can recognise her even amidst all this chaos.

Minju hums as a response, shaking her head so that her hair moves away from her face. “She’s been on my case since the start of the year,” she scoffs. “She’s an itch under your skin that doesn’t know when to fucking quit,” 

Chaewon doesn’t know how to feel about hearing Minju talk about Eunbi like that. Eunbi, someone who she admires and has placed on the highest pedestal, but it’s not something she can dwell on. Out of risk of giving away any sort of emotion that could give her away, she pushes it to the back of her head. She gives Minju a look. “You don’t like her,”

Minju’s eyebrows quirk, but not in an amused sort of way, up and down in the blink of an eye, almost like she’s saying that’s an _ understatement.  _ She takes in a slow breath. “You’re right. I don’t,”

They’re still not moving. Yuri and Yena are probably long gone at this stage, and despite there still being a lot of people around, the crowds have thinned slightly. So, Chaewon isn’t surprised when Eunbi’s eyes eventually hone in on Minju.

Her eyes had been drifting about, scanning the large groups of people, before they’d come to a brisk stop. Minju is staring right back at her, neither one of them looking away or backing down. Chaewon’s never seen Eunbi in a situation like this, has only seen her in the station, where she’s been firm, yet kind. It’s startling, to see her in this manner, the manner that had probably earned her her position, something about it...almost daunting. Unnerving. She looks unwaveringly focused, like a predator with its gaze locked.

In Minju’s case, this is nothing new for Chaewon. The dilation of her pupils, the intensity, the  _ hunger  _ drawn into them, something that still makes sheets of goosebumps bloom on Chaewon’s skin. 

And then, Eunbi’s gaze is shifting over to look at her. Her brow pinches slightly, but she doesn’t lose that same look. It’s not a look from Eunbi that Chaewon has ever wanted to be directed at her, so now, all she can do is stand frozen to the spot. She _ knows _ Eunbi knows who she is, and that she’s doing this for all the right reasons, but like when she’d gone to Yujin’s bakery with Wonyoung… she can’t help the large wave of guilt that overcomes her. 

Minju lets out another dry, gravelly breath of laughter. “She doesn’t know who you are,” 

Unable to keep looking at Eunbi, Chaewon tears her gaze away in favour of turning to Minju, who’s peering at her with a similar expression to before. Except, this time, her lips are something more lax. She tilts her head to the side. “Want me to introduce you?”

Chaewon’s muscles tense up beneath her skin, and she doesn’t doubt for a single second that Minju can see it. “What?” 

Minju’s eyes shift back over to Eunbi, who’s still looking at them, and now they’ve garnered the attention of Hyewon too. Just as fast, she’s honing her attention in on Chaewon again, gaze something dark. 

She takes a step forward.

Chaewon’s eyebrows climb despite herself. It’s just one, single step forward, but now they’re closer than before. Close in a sense that it’s personal. Mind too overwhelmed, too overcome with different emotions, Chawon doesn’t know what to think, not even able to comprehend, much less what she’s seeing in front of her. Minju is maybe the closest she’s ever been, and in the midst of all the chaos, of all the yelling and the fighting, the rush, all with the fact that Hyewon and Eunbi are  _ watching _ them… 

Chaewon swallows, as Minju’s eyes make that all-too familiar journey down to her lips, returning just as fast. 

Lithe fingertips are holding Chaewon’s chin, between thumb and forefinger, a bitingly cold touch. Minju leans in closer once again, hair falling over her shoulder like a dark curtain. 

Chaewon isn’t all too sure if she’s breathing. How to breathe. Suddenly all the chaos surrounding them, the guilt brewing in her gut, the fear eating away at her mind, all becomes akin to background noise. Insignificant, easy to ignore. And just as fast, it becomes much too easy to devote all her attention to the girl in front of her, who’s so close her breath is breaking on Chaewon’s face. 

She can see the muscles in Minju’s neck shift as she swallows. Her voice becomes quiet. “Do you?”

Chaewon learns very quickly that Minju is giving her a choice. 

She’s not thinking rationally right now. She’s not thinking about what decision could have the best outcome for the station, for the operation, none of that. All logic has been thrown out the window, in favour of her own greed.

All she’s thinking about right now is herself. She’s doing this for herself.

She does it for herself when, subtly, but enough for Minju to see, she nods her head.

That seems to be all that Minju needs. Tantalisingly slow, yet heart-stoppingly quickly, she brings their lips together.

It’s nothing dramatic, Minju’s lips on hers. It’s to the point; Minju kisses her firmly, yet her touch on Chaewon’s chin is feather light, just a gentle meeting of skin that makes Chaewon shudder despite herself. Unknowingly, she finds her hands reaching out, to touch, to hold, to have something to latch onto, one finding its way to Minju’s shoulder and maybe gripping that bit too tight. The other is still gripping onto her sleeve, twisting the fabric in her grasp like she’s trying to anchor herself. 

Minju’s lips move against hers slowly, again nothing rushed, nothing dramatic, but enough that Chaewon can very much read her intentions. She’s still startlingly cold, even considering the temperature outside, but that doesn’t faze Chaewon in the slightest, not even registering when she became pressed up close against her. Wanting to have her closer still. 

It’s a terrifying thing - Minju is terrifying. And having someone so terrifying so close, being able to touch your epitome of fear and have it curdle your own blood right before your eyes - something about it makes Chaewon’s heart convulse inside her ribcage. That instinct that kicks in, the adrenaline that pumps through your veins and screams at you to run, to get away as fast as humanly possible, Chaewon’s gotten a taste of it. And once you’ve gotten a taste, it’ll get you hooked.

It ends just as soon as it starts, Minju pulling away a fraction and her shoulders slowly rising and falling in time with her quickened breaths. Chaewon loosens her grip on her, but still holds on, not all too sure if she can bring herself to let go.

As she slowly comes back to reality - the screaming and yelling in her ears returning from their state of a dull hum - something sickening begins to churn in her stomach.

She can’t let go.

She shouldn’t have done that. She should have said no, she should’ve-

“They know who you are now,” 

Chaewon blinks multiple times, trying to clear her head. No, she can- she can do this, she can focus. She just has to think straight.

Minju twists her arm, so that the hand Chaewon has clinging onto Minju’s sleeve slips into Minju’s palm, locking their fingers together tightly taking a step back. She begins to lead Chaewon away from where Eunbi and Hyewon are. She reaches into her pocket, and takes out the keys to her car, tossing them to Chaewon who only just about manages to catch them.

Chaewon stares at the keys like they’ve come alive. “Minju- what?”

Minju’s eyes glint in the dark, and something about it is different than before. In The Violeta, that time, she’d been serious, controlled. Maybe even a bit bored. Now… 

God, it’s so crazy.

Chaewon thinks she might be enjoying herself.

“You’re driving,” Minju states simply, and then her eyes shift over to an area over Chaewon’s shoulder, presumably at Eunbi and Hyewon. Chaewon can’t bring herself to look at them, too many emotions unfurling inside of her that she doesn’t recognise, that she can’t pick apart, for her to be able to even think about looking either of them in the eye.

Minju’s lips are spreading wider, and she’s tonguing at the inside of her cheek again.

_ Terrifying. _

“And we might want to start running,”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“You’re bleeding,”

Hitomi looks down at her tumb in alarm, moving it away from her lips like it had burned her, and true to Nako’s word, a thick ooze of red has begun to pool by her cuticle. She curses softly. “I didn’t even notice,” 

Nako hums, handing her a tissue, which Hitomi takes with a mumbled word of thanks. “Clearly not,” she leans over from where she’s sitting on the chair next to her, and lets out a hiss. “God, are you trying to eat yourself alive, Hiichan?” she scolds her lightly, her words contrasting with the softness of her tone. She’s not really mad, Hitomi knows she’s not. 

“Sorry,” she offers up, weak sounding. “I didn’t- it’s just a habit,” she wraps the tissue around her thumb, only now just aware of the faint tang of iron on her tongue from when she’d been biting at her hangnail. She applies pressure, squeezing softly and trying to ignore the sting that she’s become aware of. 

She doesn’t look at Nako, doesn’t want to see the pitiful expression on her face. “You don’t need to be sorry,”

Hitomi smiles wryly to herself. It doesn’t matter, she can still hear it in her voice. 

“But… are you really that nervous?”

Hitomi heaves out a soft breath, shoulders sagging and folding her hands on her lap. The blood begins to seep minutely throught the thin layer of tissue, blooming a pale poppy on a white background. “I’m terrified,” she admits. “I don’t know whether it’s worse hearing about her, or her not being at that race and hearing nothing about her at all,” she leans back, and then, shoots Nako a hard look. “But it doesn’t matter. I’m not messing up like last time, no matter what Eunbi-unnie tells us. That was-” she cuts herself off, shuddering at the memory of how she’d flipped when she’d figured out that Chaewon was going to be staying with Minju. “-I can’t do that again. It was unprofessional,”

“You couldn’t have helped it, we were all shocked,” Nako points out to her. “But you’ve learned from it now. Even Hyewon-unnie slipped,”

Hitomi tips her head back, looking up at the ceiling. The tiles of the office are cracked, a couple broken with missing pieces. In the darkness of the late night, this place she’s so well acquainted with almost comes across as eerie. “She’s so good at it, usually,” she says. “Keeping her emotions and work separate. It’s kinda scary,” 

Nako crosses her arms, mimicing her position and leaning back in her seat. “She’s been working here for a long time, she’s probably used to it,” she shrugs her shoulders. “But, I suppose she’s only human,”

“You’re good at it too,” Hitomi remarks. “I know you miss her just as much as anyone,” 

Nako doesn’t look at her, keeps her eyes on the ceiling. “We all miss her,” she sighs. “It’s just been so long that… we’ve got no choice other than to get used to it,”

Hitomi presses her lips together. “I don’t know if I am. Used to it fully, I mean. Maybe the smallest bit” her words linger in the air, Nako not responding. Hitomi shakes her head to herself. “But for Chaewon, I know I won’t,” 

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Nako smile. “You miss her a lot, don’t you?”

There’s no point in denying it. Hitomi’s missed her ever since she left - not a day has gone by where she hasn’t thought about her, wondered if she’s feeling okay, if she’s doing alright. “All the time,” she speaks on the exhale, not saying anything else more than that. Nako probably already knows. 

She’s thankful that Nako decided to stay with her, she doesn’t know if she’d be able to handle the paranoia while waiting on her own. Yujin had said she’d had to go, and Hitomi’s not going to pry - it’s late into the night and she can’t expect her to stay so long after working hours. She hadn’t asked Nako to stay, initially planning to stay back on her own no matter how much she thought she wouldn’t be able to bear it, but Nako just simply hadn’t left. It had been a short while, but Hitomi had eventually acknowledged it. “Thank you. For staying,”

Nako had shrugged. “No problem,”

Now they’re plunged into silence again, every minute sound amplified in the quiet. Sounds of rumbling engines and yelling come from far off, barely even audible with their distance, and Hitomi closes her eyes. She’d wanted to become a detective to put an end to things like that. She’d worked hard, made her way up, remained disciplined the entire time. But the more they work, the more the load seems to grow, like a hydra who’s head you slice off only for two more to grow in its place. Hitomi feels like it follows her wherever she goes, always on her mind, always hyperaware. Sure, maybe she’s good at her job. They all are, that’s why they’re here, but Hitomi’s been wondering if she has the ability to cope with everything in the long run.

“Hiichan,” Nako’s voice cuts through her thoughts, her voice quiet.

“Mmh?”

“Can I ask you something?”

Hitomi frowns, but nods along regardless. “Sure,”

Nako takes a moment or two, only heightening Hitomi’s curiosity. “Do you…” she speaks up finally, sounding like she’s struggling to phrase whatever it is she wants to say. She lets out a sigh. “Do you like Chaewon, Hiichan?”

She doesn’t say it in an accusing manner, or like she’s mad at her. But even so, Hitomi can’t help but feel like she’s been pinned to the spot, the breath being snatched right out of her lungs. 

She sits bolt upright, and Nako doesn’t react to her in the slightest, like she’d been expecting such a reaction. Hitomi doesn’t know what to say,  _ can’t _ say anything, just stares at her, open mouthed. Neither of them do anything for a few moments, both still, both quiet, but Nako’s eventually shifting to look at her.

God, Hitomi  _ loathes  _ that look. 

Eyes full of pity.

She takes in a slow breath, trying to regain some of her composure. It draws in a little shaky, the air rattling when it comes into contact with her lips. “I do,” the volume of her voice matches Nako’s. “I… did,”

“Did?”

Hitomi purses her lips. “I still do. But she’s gone, now. For god only knows how long,” 

More thick, impermeable silence, and if Hitomi had her way, she’d scream over the sound of it.

“I’m sorry, Hiichan,”

_ I’m sorry that she’s gone. _

_ I’m sorry that you miss her. _

_ I’m sorry that you barely even cross her mind. _

  
  
  
  
  


Hyewon and Eunbi return not too long afterwards, both Hitomi and Nako sitting up straighter upon their arrival. Eunbi looks at them both with surprise, like she hadn’t expected to see them here. “You both waited?” she asks, not stopping as she makes her way over to her computer, Hyewon hot on her heels.

Nako hums as a reply, standing up to follow them with Hitomi following suit. “How did it go? Was she there?”

“She was,” Eunbi replies, not missing a beat as she sits herself down, clicking the mouse a few times to get the computer to wake up. “She was, and Hyewon’s a genius,” 

Hitomi laughs softly at the additional remark. “What did she do this time?”

Hyewon waves a hand, face completely unbothered, lips set in a slightly downturned line. “Unnie’s exaggerating,” she drones, placing a hand on the back of Eunbi’s chair and leaning on it. 

Eunbi tuts underneath her breath at that statement, eyes flying across the screen, clicking quickly, the faint blue glow of the monitor casting a similar colour to her face. She eventually becks for Hitomi and Nako to come behind the desk to take a look. Hitomi quickly recognises the map of Seoul as displayed, divided up into its four rings. Eunbi zooms out so that they can see the entirety of The Outskirts. “So we were confused when Chaewon told us that the race was gonna be in the south-west, right?” she asks them rhetorically, pointing to the bottom left corner of the ring. “Because they haven’t gone there in a while,” she zooms in to a certain point, which Hitomi remembers as being the area of the south-west that the races used to be held from having looked at it so many times in the past. “You remember this spot, yeah?”

Nako frowns, leaning in closer. “That’s just where the race was held, right?”

Eunbi holds up a finger. “That’s what we thought. But then, a short while before we go, we get a call from Yujin. And she’s like,  _ unnie, they weren’t there, _ ”

Now, Hitomi frowns too, but she doesn’t say anything, allowing Eunbi to speak. 

“So she said she followed a group of people, group of bikers, tacky paint jobs, she picked it up pretty quick,” she moves her finger along the map, just miutely, in a little further. “And followed them to what I’m guessing is somewhere around here,” she gives the screen a jab. “That’s where Hyewon and I went tonight,”

Eunbi’s finger is practically on the brink of the second ring, whereas previously, it had been close to pushing into the next city. All of these races are held on the furthermost part of the city as possible, that’s just the brand - dirty, no playing by the rules, no one there to help you. Moving in closer to the second ring…

“Are they…” Nako visibly recoils, like even the idea of it is bizarre. “Are they trying to spread? Into the next ring?”

“That,” Eunbi tilts her head in consideration. “Or they’re trying to bring people from the next ring into us. But either way, it’s spreading in the sense that they’re getting bigger,” she jabs her thumb in Hyewon’s direction. “I wouldn’t have even noticed it, it was Hyewon who pointed it out. The way it was set up… it couldn’t be done without crossing over into the second ring. We follow the track, and boom. It’s only a small portion, but a fair amount of the track crosses the border,” 

Hitomi gapes. Crossing the border… it’s just something that isn’t done unless absolutely necessary, there’s too much difference in the social hierarchy for anyone to even  _ want  _ to. Purposefully laying out a track so that the border is crossed… Kim Minju really doesn’t care. 

Her brow knits again, voicing her thoughts aloud. “Do you think that if they’re only just now beginning to expand in their races, maybe expanding into that casino is something more recent too?”

Eunbi purses her lips, fingers brushing against her chin, looking like she’s thinking. “I didn’t think about that, actually,” she mutters. “It could explain a lot,” her eyes then dart over to Nako, then to Hyewon, and then she’s continuing on. “But anyways, we’ll have to park any theories for now. Chaewon shouldn’t know that the race being held in that particlar spot is anything unusual, unless they’ve explained it to her, so we have to make sure she’s aware of that,” 

At the mention of Chaewon’s name, there’s a sharp pang in Hitomi’s chest, and she resists the strong urge to wince. She can’t do what she did last time, she can’t pry where it’s not her place, yet it’s taking every ounce of her will to keep her mouth shut.

In her peripherals, she sees Nako giving her a quick side glance, which she pretends not to have seen. “You said you saw Chaewon, unnie,” she speaks up, and Hitomi could honestly hug her. “Did she look okay?”

“We did, yeah,” Eunbi smiles a little. “It was only her we saw. And Minju, no one else. It was… weird. But yeah, she looked like she was doing okay, thankfully,” 

Hitomi doesn’t see much harm in pitching in now that the topic’s been brought up, feeling like a weight has been lifted off her shoulders that Chaewon’s doing alright. “So nothing happened? She’s alright?”

Eunbi reaches out, and takes ahold of Hitomi’s wrist, giving it a gentle, reassuring squeeze. “Nothing at all,” she gives Hitomi a sincere nod. “Chaewon’s doing just fine,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2kim's first kiss already wowwww bet you weren't expecting that so quickly, or maybe you were and im just an arrogant piece of shit who knows. either way, doesnt rly matter because CHOI YENA IN HER FUCKING TIKTOK ERA LORD I AM COMING UP
> 
> anywayssssss thank you guys ssm again for reading!! i have the next week off, so although i wont make any promises, im hoping to get the next chapter out sooner rather than later hehe. thank you again, see you next time! <33
> 
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